Conclusions of the LXII COSAC
1
–
3 December 2019, Helsinki
The 32
nd
COSAC Bi-Annual Report
1. COSAC expresses thanks to the Secretariat for preparing the 32
nd
Bi-annual report, which evaluates
aspe ts of COSAC’s e isti g for s of ork. The report
identifies a need to reassess the preparation
of Bi-annual Reports (BAR). Parliaments are equally divided as to whether the reports should recur
bi-annually, or be prepared in response to a particular need for information identified by the
presidency. The presidency in office should assume a leading role in ensuring that each BAR
corresponds to needs for information that are widely felt among parliaments.
2. COSAC notes that, while a large majority of national parliaments are satisfied with their influence on
their respective
Me er State’s EU de isio
-making, a majority also see a need to improve how their
inputs feed in to EU legislative outcomes through the reasoned opinion and political dialogue
procedures. COSAC invites future presidencies to pursue this issue.
3. COSAC notes that, in spite of differences of opinion, a majority of chambers are in favour of exploring
whether in future the COSAC secretariat could be deployed also in support of other recurring inter-
parliamentar
o fere es, su je t to a ge eral re ie of the COSAC se retariat’s tasks a d
resour es. COSAC o ser es that the EU Speakers’
Conference in May 2020 is to update the EUSC
Guidelines on inter-parliamentary cooperation in the EU. COSAC calls on the relevant presidential
Troikas to cooperate in further exploring synergies among the permanent inter-parliamentary
conferences.
Transparency and parliaments’ access to information
4. COSAC welcomes the efforts by the Finnish government in the context of the EU Presidency on the
issue of legislative transparency and democratic accountability and calls on future Presidencies to
continue this work. COSAC observes that the issue of transparency, democratic accountability and
public access to information, particularly concerning the EU Council and the
EU’s legislati e trilogues,
has been raised by individual delegations at successive COSACs, but could not be accommodated in
the plenary agenda. COSAC considers that the subject falls within its purview, but that a plenary
debate requires a broadly shared experience and understanding of the issue and how it should be
discussed. COSAC invites interested parliaments together with future presidencies-in-office to
explore further how to frame and discuss the issue of transparency, democratic accountability and
public access to information in a way that is meaningful for a plurality of parliaments.
COSAC’s on-line
visibility
5. COSAC notes that the LX COSAC (Vienna, November 2018) welcomed the migration of the COSAC
website to the IPEX platform, and called for the completion of the process by the LXI COSAC. COSAC
regrets that the migration has yet to be completed and calls on the Croatian Presidency to monitor
closely that the process is finalised without further delay. COSAC sees IPEX as an important reference
tool for parliaments and the public, who expect both databases and contact information to be
unfailingly accurate and up to date.
Reappointment of the Permanent Member of COSAC’s secretariat
6. The LXII COSAC records with approval that the Chairpersons decided to appoint Mr Kenneth CURMI
of Malta to a se o d ter as Per a e t Me er of COSAC’s se retariat,
for the years 2020
–
2021.