Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Assemblée parlementaire Euronest Parlamentarische Versammlung Euronest Парламентская Aссамблея Евронест
CONSTITUENT MEETING
Tuesday 3 May 2011, 9.00 - 12.30hrs Brussels - Hemicycle
MINUTES
The sitting opened at 09.15 with the President of the European Parliament, Prof. Jerzy BUZEK, in the chair.
1. Welcome by Prof. Jerzy BUZEK, President of the European Parliament, and presentation of the Speakers of the Parliaments of the Eastern Partners
Address by Prof. Jerzy BUZEK, President of the European Parliament
Mr. BUZEK, President of the European Parliament, opened the Constituent Meeting of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, presented and welcomed the speakers of the Parliaments of the Eastern Partner countries, or their representatives, and the other guests: the President of the Parliament, Acting President of the Republic of Moldova, Mr. LUPU; the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Mr. ABRAHAMYAN; the First Deputy Chairman of the Milli Mejlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. ASGEROV; the First Vice-Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Mr. MACHAVARIANI; the Chairman of the Ukrainian Delegation to the Euronest PA and representative of the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Mr. TARASYUK; the Chairman of the European Parliament Delegation to the Euronest PA, Mr. VIGENIN and Mr. POPOVSKI, Deputy Secretary General of the EEAS, representing Mrs. ASHTON, Vice President of the Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs. He pointed out the importance of the Constituent Act to be signed, as a positive result for the citizens of the partner countries and the citizens of the European Union. 60 Members of the European Parliament, of 16 nationalities, and all the Political Groups of the European Parliament would take part in the Euronest PA. Mr. BUZEK pointed out that there was a full political agreement in the European Parliament on the Eastern Partnership and on Euronest PA. Mr. BUZEK mentioned that, unfortunately, the representatives of Belarus were not present and he regretted that, but their places would remain free. The most important task of the new Assembly was meant to be, first, to exchange experience in respect of the functioning of democracy, human rights and the rule of law; secondly, to work more closely together in the economy to achieve economic
NEST/PV/880736EN.doc 1 AP 101.069 progress, because the citizens expect prosperity; next, negotiations on important issues: Association Agreements and Programmes for Visa facilitations; promote contacts between citizens through the work in the Euronest PA. The work of the Euronest would be done in cooperation with the OSCE and the Council of Europe, and taking into account our relations with Russia and Turkey, countries which are bordering the EU and the Eastern Partner countries. He said that the democratic reforms in Moldova were welcomed, that he hoped that soon the President of Moldova would be elected and that the 5+2 negotiations would resume regarding Transnistria. The tensions around Abkhazia and South-Ossetia are crucial, the EU will try to help but the concerned parties should find a solution together. He congratulated Georgia for its achievements in the last period of time. Regarding Armenia and Azerbaijan, he stressed the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh. He mentioned that the situation in the various countries was different, but it was necessary to cooperate and be transparent in order to be compatible to each other. The European Parliament welcomed the key role Ukraine had played for Euronest PA, welcomed its progress and expressed his hope to cooperate with Ukraine also in order to contribute to solving the Transnistrian conflict. Mr. BUZEK underlined that democracy is the only way to stability and cooperation within the Euronest PA would function according to that principle. The European Union's target is to create a common home for those entitled to live in it where everybody would feel comfortable.
2. Address by Mrs Catherine ASHTON, High Representative/Vice President or her representative
Mrs. ASHTON, Vice President of the Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs, could not attend the meeting, due to a mission abroad. Mrs. ASHTON sent therefore a letter to Mr. BUZEK with her message on the occasion of the inauguration of the Euronest PA. The letter was subsequently attached to the folder of each member of the Assembly.
3. Addresses by the Speakers, their representatives or the Heads of Delegation of the Eastern Partners
Mr. ABRAHAMYAN, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, expressed his thanks to Mr. BUZEK for the invitation to the constituent meeting of the Euronest PA. He thanked as well the members of the national delegations for the work that had been done. In 2004, when the European Neighbourhood Policy was launched, it was one of the long term objectives of the European Union to ensure that the Eastern European countries would transit to democracy. In this context, the Euronest PA plays an important role to create the conditions needed for advancing political association and economic integration between the European Union and the Eastern Partner states. The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly should become the venue that should help to give a parliamentary assessment of the Eastern Partnership, express the participants' commitment to the principles of international law and fundamental values and achieve mutual understanding and full-fledged regional cooperation.
NEST/PV/880736EN.doc 2 AP 101.069 He underlined that Armenia was always in favour of cooperation with the European Union and its neighbouring countries. The Euronest PA would be the platform to build up trust and peaceful cooperation. The involvement of the three South Caucasus countries in the Euronest PA might be extremely useful in making the region more predictable. Given the importance of parliamentary diplomacy, Euronest could also provide a new impetus to the current relations and become an additional incentive for the enhancement of ties between our parliaments and the societies at large. He expressed his belief that it is among the tasks of the Euronest to engage Belarus in the process and try to encourage further reforms in the country to enable the Belorussian delegation to fill the vacant seats in the near future. He stressed the necessity to continue to make progress in reforms and exchange experience. The Parliamentary Assembly of Armenia had declared itself ready to cooperate with the European Institutions and to accomplish all the necessary work. He emphasized that less than a year had passed since the launch of the negotiations on the Association Agreement with the European Union and that already sixteen chapters of the negotiated document were concluded. The new Electoral Code and the law on “Freedom of Speech and Assembly” were now in force. He underlined that Euronest would considerably help Armenia to achieve its goals. He concluded by stressing that the creation of the Euronest PA would be an important bridge for good cooperation in the future.
Mr. ASGEROV, Vice-President of the Azerbaijani Parliament, expressed his cordial and sincere thanks for the organisation of the event and the excellent conditions which surrounded it. He congratulated all the members with the creation of the Euronest PA and wished success to the new established institution. Taking into account the dynamic development of the modern world, which is linked with the integration process, he stressed the crucial importance to put joint efforts for building bridges and deepening the dialogue between members of the integrated European family. He expressed as well the hope that the Euronest PA would justify the expectations related to that. He mentioned that Azerbaijan was celebrating the 20th anniversary of its independence. Progress and developments had been achieved in the fields of legal and democratic state building, economy, welfare of the population and democratisation of the public life. He pointed out that the Azerbaijani people clearly saw their future in Europe and declared that Azerbaijan wanted to build a society based on democracy and the rule of law. He stressed the importance of the relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union. The partnership and cooperation agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU had been enforced for 12 years. During that period, an enormous work has been carried out for the development of those relations. Mr. ASGEROV underlined that assistance coming from Europe, for the development of the country, was highly appreciated. He said that Azerbaijan welcomed the start of negotiations for the Association Agreement with the EU, in July 2010, and wished successful conclusion of those negotiations. He welcomed as well the visa facilitations negotiations. He mentioned that Azerbaijan was a strategic partner of the EU in the energy field.
NEST/PV/880736EN.doc 3 AP 101.069 He stressed that the peace and security of Europe depended on peace and security of each individual country; in that regard, a good cooperation between the EU and its neighbours was crucial. He mentioned that the bilateral relations of Azerbaijan with the EU cover a big number of fields, which were increasing in the last period of time. Collaboration in the domain of energy was underlined as a driving force in the EU- Azerbaijan relations. As the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. ALYEV, stated, Azerbaijan will use its gas resources for the improvement of the welfare of the population, future development of the country and provision of energy security for its friends in Europe. The Republic of Azerbaijan is interested in collaboration with the EU in a number of other fields as well, including democratic society building, security, trade cooperation and education. A good cooperation is important, as peace and security of Europe depends on peace and security of each individual member of the European family. The Azerbaijani Vice-President of Parliament stated that the newly established Euronest PA should also actively search ways out of frozen conflicts, and, in this regard, the rapid settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was important for peace and security in the region and in the whole European space.
Mr. MACHAVARIANI, First Vice-Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, expressed his sincere appreciation to the European Parliament for its support to establish the Euronest PA, because the organisation work expresses the common will to work together. He thanked as well the representatives of the Partner Countries for the good cooperation. He stated that Georgia considers the Eastern Partnership an effective mechanism to ensure integration into the EU through political association and economic integration. Mr. MACHAVARIANI noted as well that EU-Georgia relations have witnessed remarkable developments over the last year. Georgia actively followed its EU integration agenda. The negotiations on the Association Agreement and Visa Facilitation Agreement have been launched. He said that he was proud of the successful development of the implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan. The newly established Euronest PA should take into consideration conflict resolution and stability in the region of Eastern Europe. Euronest should continue to defend the European values, share the responsibilities and serve as a good basis for future accomplishments. He stressed the necessity to find a way for future cooperation, in the framework of Euronest PA, with Belarus as well.
Mr. LUPU, Chairman of the Parliament and acting President of the Republic of Moldova, congratulated all the partners on the occasion of the launching of the Euronest PA, which he considered an outstanding event for Europe and the countries covered by the Eastern Partnership. He pointed out the positive development of the European Neighbourhood Policy regarding the support of democratic reforms and consolidation of statehood and territorial integrity of the Eastern Partners. Undoubtedly, the Eastern Partnership represents an efficient political framework, which seeks to deepen and strengthen the relations between the EU and its neighbours, towards political association and economic integration, through legislative, economic and social reforms in the partner countries.
NEST/PV/880736EN.doc 4 AP 101.069 For the proper implementation of the Eastern Partnership, a joint commitment is required, as well as a better focus on objectives and a clear definition of priorities for action. Economic reforms should go hand in hand with the political reforms, as good governance can be achieved only through an open and transparent decision making process, based on democratic institutions. Mr. LUPU stressed that the European integration process is a key tool for ensuring systemic progress towards greater political and economic stability, consolidation of the rule of law and anti-corruption mechanisms; human development, including respect of human rights; social economic prosperity and civil society participation, as well as an improvement of the general climate in the Moldovan society. In that regard, he pointed out the acknowledgement of responsible actions taken by both Moldova and the EU. The Republic of Moldova was fully engaged in the negotiations of the Association Agreement and would do its best to start implementing it until the end of the year, working hard on the negotiations of the Visa Facilitation Agreement, as well as on the launching of the negotiations on the DCFTA, as soon as possible. He underlined that Moldova was grateful for the EU support and appreciated its role in the Transnistrian conflict settlement, including the EU financial contribution for the promotion of confidence building measures as well as for the strengthening of the capacity of the institutions involved in the integration process of Moldova. Eastern Partners should encourage their governments and citizens to collaborate closely with each other and to engage in a deep dialogue in all relevant areas.
Mr. TARASYUK, the Chairman of the Ukrainian Delegation, greeted the participants and expressed his gratefulness to the EP and to the Partner Countries for the launch of the Euronest PA. He stressed that the Verhovna Rada of Ukraine had worked very actively in that regard, from the beginning of the negotiations. He mentioned two main tasks of the Euronest PA: first of all, the Assembly should be an actively working component and supporting body of the Eastern Partnership cooperation; secondly, the Assembly should bring practical inputs to the Eastern Partnership. The EU should make a clear differentiation between its Southern and Eastern partners, within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy. He stressed that there should be a reviewed ENP. The countries which aspire to a different future within the European Union need to have different approaches. He expressed his understanding regarding the EU disappointment about the presidential elections in Belarus, and stressed that even the Euronest PA, for objective reasons, had to start to work without Belarus, although the seats for Belarusian MPs should be reserved. The policy of isolating Belarus would not represent the interest of the EU, nor of the Eastern Partners and of other neighbouring countries.
Mr. BUZEK thanked the speakers and underlined that the EU was already focusing and would continue to focus both on its Southern Partners and on the Eastern Partners. He said that, unfortunately, Mrs. ASHTON, Vice President of the Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs, could not attend the meeting as she was in a mission abroad. However, Mrs. ASHTON had sent a letter to Mr. BUZEK with her message for the Euronest PA. The letter was attached to the folder of each member of the meeting.
NEST/PV/880736EN.doc 5 AP 101.069 Mr. BUZEK stressed the importance of the European Commission and the Council of the EU to cooperate with the European Parliament and the Eastern Partners towards common success and progress of the Eastern Partnership.
4. Adoption of the Constituent Act and the Rules of Procedure of the Euronest PA
The Constituent Act and the Rules of Procedure of the Euronest PA were adopted.
5. Signature of the Constituent Act of the Euronest PA by the Speakers of the Parliaments of the Eastern Partners and the President of the European Parliament
The Constituent Act of the Euronest PA was signed first by the Speakers of the Parliaments of the Eastern Partners, or their representatives, following the alphabetical order of the countries' names in the English language and then by the President of the European Parliament.
6. Election of the Bureau of the Euronest PA: - 2 Co-Presidents - 8 Vice-Presidents
Mr. BUZEK stressed that the election of the 2 Co-Presidents and 8 Vice-Presidents of the Euronest PA was a very important item of the agenda. The 2 Co-Presidents and 8 Vice-Presidents, composing, all together, the Bureau of the Euronest PA, were elected: Mr. TARASYUK, on behalf of the Eastern Partners component and Mr. VIGENIN, on behalf of the European Parliament, as Co-Presidents; 4 Vice-Presidents on behalf of the Eastern Partner Countries: MR. HOVHANNESYAN from Armenia, Mr. SULEYMANOV from Azerbaijan, Mr. DARCHIASHVILI from Georgia and Mr. CORMAN from Moldova; 4 Vice-Presidents on behalf of the European Parliament: Mr. UNGUREANU, Mr. CZARNECKI, Mr. GERBRANDY and Mr. SARYUSZ- WOLSKI.
Mr. BUZEK thanked the participants for their attention and collaboration and invited them for the Family Photo.
The sitting was interrupted at 11.15 a.m. to allow the holding of a Bureau meeting.
******
The sitting resumed at 11.45 a.m.
In the chair: Mr. VIGENIN and Mr. TARASYUK, Co-Presidents.
7. Adoption of the decision on setting up four parliamentary committees and approval of the Rules of Procedure for the committees
NEST/PV/880736EN.doc 6 AP 101.069 Mr. VIGENIN congratulated the participants for the creation of the Euronest PA and for the adoption of the Constituent Act and the Rules of Procedure. He informed that, according to the Rules of Procedure, the decision on establishing Standing Committees and the two Working Groups should be taken. The Draft Rules of Procedure for the Committees had just been approved by the first meeting of the Bureau. Mr. VIGENIN announced the proposed Committees: - Committee on Political Affairs, Human Rights and Democracy; - Committee on Economic Integration, Legal Approximation and Convergence with the EU Policies; - Committee on Energy Security; - Committee on Social Affairs, Education, Culture and Civil Society.
It was proposed that the Bureau could make changes in the composition of the Bureaus of the Committees, on proposals of the relevant delegations of the two components, as an addition to the draft decision previously approved.
The Rules of Procedure of the Committees, as well as the Committees' number and composition, were approved.
8. Adoption of the decision on setting up two working groups
Mr. TARASYUK informed the members about the deliberations concerning the creation of the Working Groups by the Bureau. He mentioned that two Working Groups had been proposed by the members of the Bureau: - Working Group on Belarus and - Working Group on the Rules of Procedure.
He announced that, for the Working Group on Belarus, 2 Co-Chairs had been recommended; one from the Eastern Partner's component, Mr. DIACOV from the Republic of Moldova; and one from the EP component, Mr. SARYUSZ-WOLSKI. Mr. TARASYUK informed that, as to the Working Group on the Rules of Procedure, a decision regarding the Eastern Partners' candidate Co-Chair and rotation principle had not been reached; he therefore made a proposal to amend that draft decision, paragraph 5, which relates to the Rules of Procedure, by adding the following sentence: "The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly entrusts the Bureau to decide on the Co-Chairmanship and rotation principle in the Working Group on Rules of Procedure for the Eastern European Partners component." It was proposed to the members of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly to give that mandate to the Bureau. On the other hand, it was announced that, for the Working Group on the Rules of Procedure, the Co-Chair candidate for the European Parliament component was Mrs HERCZOG.
Mr. PROTASIEWICZ proposed to establish the Working Group on Belarus for the period of 18 months; not for 9 months, because of the expected parliamentary elections in Belarus, in 2012.
NEST/PV/880736EN.doc 7 AP 101.069 Mr. TARASYUK clarified that the Working Group on Belarus would initially be established for one year. That term could be prolonged by a decision of the Assembly, upon a proposal of the Bureau.
The decision on setting up the two working groups, with the amendment suggested, including the decision of the Parliamentary Assembly on the 2 Co-Chairs of the Working Group on Belarus and one Co-Chair of the Working Group on the Rules of Procedure, announced previously on behalf of the Bureau, was unanimously adopted.
9. Final remarks by the Co-Presidents
Mr. TARASYUK thanked the members of the European Parliament's component and the members of the Eastern European National Parliaments' component, who had worked hard during the previous years to make it possible to inaugurate the Euronest PA. He expressed his hope that, with the active joint work of the members of the EP and the members of the national Partner Parliaments, the best would be done, in order to push the structures of the European Union and the national Eastern European Partners' authorities, to activate the potential of the Partners of the Eastern Partnership and to ensure that the financial support allocated by the EU for the Eastern Partnership would not be transferred to the Southern dimension. He wished success to all the partners in their work, in the name of people's prosperity, law and democracy.
Mr. VIGENIN, on behalf of the European Parliament, thanked all the members for their constructive participation. He pointed out that a very powerful tool had been created to continue the Eastern Partnership cooperation at the multilateral level, to work on the issues which had been established as main priorities and to go beyond that. He stressed the importance of taking part in the ENP review process and to follow closely the proposals of the European Commission. Mr. VIGENIN underlined that the Euronest PA was an Assembly of two equal parts, in rights and responsibilities. He wished all the members a successful work and good results.
10. Closure of the meeting
The sitting closed at 12.30.
NEST/PV/880736EN.doc 8 AP 101.069 ANNEX
RECORD OF ATTENDANCE
PRESENT
EP Delegation Eastern Partners BUZEK, EP President Armenia: ABRAHAMYAN, Speaker VIGENIN, Chairman HOVHANNESYAN UNGUREANU, 1st Vice-Chairman ZAKARYAN SARYUSZ-WOLSKI, 4th Vice-Chairman SARGSYAN GALSTIAN Members: ENFIAJYAN BREZINA MELIKYAN BUSOI SAFARYAN CABRNOCH HARUTYUNYAN DONSKIS SAHAKYAN (Substitute) FLECKENSTEIN BOSTANJYAN (Substitute) HIBNER IMBRASAS Azerbaijan: KIRILOV ASGAROV, First Deputy Speaker KOWAL SULEYMANOV LANDSBERGIS HUSEYNLI LUKACIJEWSKA MURADOV LUNACEK MAMMADOVA MACOVEI MOLLAZADE MASTALKA KARIMLI MATULA PROTASIEWICZ Georgia: SAUDARGAS MACHAVARIANI, First Vice-Speaker SZYMANSKI DARCHIASHVILI TSOUKALAS GOGORISHVILI ZALEWSKI KENCHOSHVILI ZDANOKA OCHIAURI (Substitute) AKHVLEDIANI (Substitute) Substitutes: CHAKHVADZE (Substitute) BAUER GAL Moldova: HÖKMARK LUPU, Speaker and Acting President of the Republic LISEK of Moldova MARINESCU CORMAN MARTINEZ MARTINEZ DIACOV MESSNER IONIŢĂ MIGALSKI DELIU OOMEN-RUIJTEN VIERU PASKA RIERA MADURELL Ukraine: SCHULZ TARASYUK SMOLKOVA KURPIL TANNOCK ZVARYCH ZELLER ZARUBINSKYI KARAKAI Other Members: KOVALEVSKA PIRILLO LUK’IANOV ROUCEK BOLIURA KRAVCHUK
NEST/PV/880736EN.doc 9 AP 101.069/Ann. ALSO PRESENT
Accompanying persons of the Eastern Partners Armenia: SHIMSHIRYAN (Secretariat) ADONTS, Ambassador LORENZO OCHOA MKRTOUMIAN HOVHANNISYAN POGHOSYAN MURADYAN MKRTCHYAN SARGSYAN GHARIBJANIAN BARSEGHYAN KURKIJAN ECHO BIYAGOV SIMONYAN MELKIKYAN
Azerbaijan: MAMMADOV (Secretariat) EYYUBOV, Ambassador ISMAYILOV
Georgia: DVALADZE (Secretariat) SAMADASHVILI, Ambassador GIORGOBIANI
Moldova: CUJBA, Ambassador CUPCENCO GRIGORITA TURCU MOSTOVEI
Ukraine: PROTASENKO (Secretariat) YELISIEIEV, Ambassador TSOK BAGRINETS VEZIELIEVA KULISH
EEAS: Popovski, Stadejek
Missions: Suetin (Russia), Skrzynska, Lisiecki-Zurowski (Poland), Pavilonyte (Lithuania)
Others: Davidashvili (European Parliamentary Forum), Voordechers (E.T.F.), Pirumashvili (GPB)
EP Political groups: EPP: Hannibal, Kosinska, Trombetta S&D: Azzopardi, Vallin, Pearson, Ratoslavova ALDE: Vanden Broucke, Vaisbrodas ECR: Grabczewski, Muradzadeh, Bartusz, Olchawa
NEST/PV/880736EN.doc 10 AP 101.069/Ann. Verts: Bergamaschi GUE/NGL: Frisova EFD: Jankevicius
Cabinet of the EP President: Stutzmann, Pranckevicius, Vlase
EP - DG External Policies: Dorgeret, Kirsch-Van de Water, Edgel, Udina, Goinard, Alonso Alonso, Czaplicki, Popescu-Black, Claes
EP - DG COMM: Redei
EP Euronest Secretariat Aguiriano, Director-General, Stokelj, Director, Mazzi Zissis, Head of Unit Assistance: Turanova, Schmutterer
NEST/PV/880736EN.doc 11 AP 101.069/Ann.