The COSAC Chairpersons' meeting is being held under the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The priorities of this rotating presidency will be outlined by the Hungarian government.
The status of EU enlargement in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe will also be discussed. This will be a key issue for the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, which has announced its intention to make significant progress with the candidate countries through a merit-based approach.
COSAC serves as a platform for the promotion of interparliamentary dialogue. Since 2015, the Swiss delegation has also participated as an observer in the biannual COSAC Chairpersons' meetings. The forthcoming meeting in Budapest will also pave the way for the COSAC plenary meeting at the end of October.
For the Swiss delegation, participation in these meetings is an opportunity to gauge the mood in the European Parliament on important issues that also concern our country and to hear the views of individual parliamentarians from EU member states.
The EFTA/EU Delegation will be represented at the Budapest meeting by its current president, Thomas Aeschi (SVP, ZG), and a former president, Hans-Peter Portmann (FDP, ZH), both members of the National Council.