On 11 and 12 May, Budapest hosted the
Conference of Speakers of European Union Parliaments. The annual conference is always organised by the country that held the EU Council presidency in the second half of the previous year. It forms part of the parliamentary dimension of the EU Council presidency, which aims to strengthen the role of national parliaments in the EU legislative process. The annual conference serves as a platform for exchanging views and engaging in interparliamentary dialogue at the highest level. The presidents of the National Council and the Council of States attended the event as guests.
The conference focused in particular on the question of the future direction of the European Union – between federalism and national sovereignty – as well as the importance of regionalism and the preservation of cultural identity. As representatives of a non-EU member state, Maja Riniker and Andrea Caroni brought a Swiss perspective to the discussion. In his speech, the president of the Council of States emphasised how the principle of subsidiarity is not only a cornerstone of Swiss federalism, but is also enshrined in the EU's founding treaties.
In her keynote speech in the debate on European identity (’Closer to voters: regionalism in Europe, and safeguarding Europe's cultural identity’), the president of the National Council drew parallels between Switzerland as a nation founded on political will and the European community of values based on the motto of her presidential year ‘Cohesion through diversity’. Neither were based on cultural or linguistic homogeneity, but with a focus on shared values and the will to shape the future together. Maja Riniker also explained the importance of direct democracy as a central element of Switzerland's political culture, which enables citizens to play an active role in the political process and so contribute to the broad anchoring of political decisions in society.
The presidents of the National Council and the Council of States took the opportunity to foster contacts with their counterparts from the EU and from countries with EU accession candidate status, as well as those from other host countries, and to inform them about Switzerland's relations with the EU.
Pictures: Conference of Speakers of the EU Parliaments -12 May 2025 | Flickr
Speech of the president of the National Council: 28:00-35:30
Speech of the president of the Council of States: 2:40:00-2:43:00