Europaudvalget 2019-20
EUU Alm.del Bilag 27
Offentligt
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MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PRESIDENTIAL TROIKA OF COSAC
Helsinki, Finland, 21 July 2019
PRESENT AT THE MEETING
CHAIRS: Ms Satu HASSI, Chair of the Grand Committee, Finnish
Eduskunta.
Ms Gabriela CREȚU,
Chairwoman of the European Affairs Committee, Romanian
Senat;
Mr
Angel TÎLVĂR, Chairman of the European Affairs Committee, Romanian
Camera
Deputaților;
Mr Domagoj Ivan MILOSEVIC, Chairman of the European Affairs Committee,
Croatian
Hrvatski sabor;
Ms Mairead McGUINNESS, First Vice-President, European
Parliament; Mr Antonio TAJANI, Chair of the Committee for Constitutional Affairs, European
Parliament.
AGENDA
1. Adoption of the agenda of the meeting of the Presidential Troika of COSAC
2. Approval of the draft programme of the meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC
3. Debate on the draft programme of the LXII COSAC
4. Approval of the outline of the 32nd Bi-annual Report of COSAC
5. Co-financing and Appointment of the Permanent Member of the COSAC Secretariat
for 2020-2021
5. Letters received by the Presidency
6. Any other business
PROCEEDINGS
1. Adoption of the agenda of the Meeting of the Presidential Troika of COSAC
Ms HASSI welcomed the delegations of the Presidential Troika of COSAC (hereinafter referred
to as "the Troika"), and outlined the agenda of the meeting of the Troika, which was adopted
without amendment.
2. Approval of the draft programme of the Meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC
Ms HASSI outlined the topics on the programme of the meeting that would take place the
following day.
The first session would focus on the “priorities of the
Finnish Presidency of the Council of the
European Union” and would be presented by Ms Tytti TUPPURAINEN, Minister for European
Affairs.
The second session would deal with the ongoing negotiations on the Multiannual Financial
Framework, with Mr Alain LAMASSOURE, Former MEP and Former French Minister, as
keynote speaker.
The draft programme of the meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC was approved without
amendment.
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3. Debate on the draft programme of the LXII COSAC
Ms HASSI informed the Troika members that the LXII COSAC would take place on 1
–
3
December 2019 in Helsinki. She outlined the four sessions of the draft programme.
The first session would be presented by the Prime Minister of Finland, Mr Antti RINNE, and
focus on the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union; the second session
would deal with Tampere acquis and the Charter of Fundamental Rights; the third session would
address the European climate strategy; the fourth session would be a continuation of the debate;
whereas the fifth and final session would analyse inter-parliamentary cooperation in the 2020s.
The Chair also proposed that the President-elect of the European Commission, Ms Ursula VON
DER LEYEN, would be invited to address COSAC and that the decision would be recorded at
the Chairpersons meeting. She also referred to a suggestion by the Dutch
Tweede Kamer
to
devote a session to transparency during the plenary, whilst noting that no concrete proposal had
yet been put forward. Nevertheless, the Chair sought the opinion of the Troika regarding this
suggestion.
Ms McGUINNESS, European Parliament, expressed her appreciation of the programme and
the emphasis that had been put on expert contribution to the meeting, but wanted to know more
about the political side of the meeting. Regarding transparency, she said the Troika would need
to know why it would be put on the agenda, as well as its format and objective. The European
Parliament had done a lot of work on transparency and it would be good to acknowledge this
rather than have the same subject come up without any conclusion.
With regard to the political side of the meeting, the Chair answered that political input would
be provided by the participants after the experts delivered their keynote speeches, which should
serve as an inspiration for the political debate that would ensue.
She agreed that a more detailed proposal on transparency was needed in order to be able to take
it up as a separate agenda item.
Mr MILOSEVIC agreed with both.
Ms CREȚU questioned the need for a specific session on the topic.
Chair noted the agreement among participants.
The draft programme of the LXII COSAC was therefore approved without amendment.
4. Approval of the outline of the 32nd Bi-annual Report of COSAC
Ms HASSI outlined the structure of the 32nd Bi-annual Report of COSAC noting that it would
be divided in three chapters, with the first chapter dealing with an overview of parliamentary
activities; the second chapter dealing with inter-parliamentary cooperation in the 2020s; and,
finally, the third chapter would be dedicated to an evaluation of the report itself.
The Chair noted that the idea behind this Bi-annual Report would be to get back to basics and
evaluate how parliaments contributed to the European project and what improvements could be
made in this regard. It would also question whether the Bi-annual Report was still needed in its
current form. The questionnaire would be circulated on Wednesday 31 July 2019. Replies
would be expected by September 20th.
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The outline of the 32ndBi-annual Report of COSAC was thus approved.
5. Co-financing and Appointment of the Permanent Member of the COSAC Secretariat
for 2020-2021
The Chair thanked all parliaments that had responded to the co-financing request and in
particular the Romanian Parliament for its efforts and assistance on this matter during its
Presidency. All but three Parliaments had sent their letter of intent, and the Chair proposed to
note this during the meeting the following day.
With regard to the post of Permanent Member of the COSAC Secretariat, the term of the current
Permanent Member, Mr Kenneth CURMI, was coming to an end. Under the Rules of Procedure,
Mr CURMI could be appointed for a second term, but the Chair noted that there should be an
open procedure in the spirit of transparency and fairness. She suggested to proceed as follows:
a vacancy would be declared at the Chairpersons meeting with a follow-up letter sent after the
meeting, asking Parliaments to nominate members. The Troika would then consider the way
forward and try to reach an opinion by mid-October in order to allow the Chairs to make the
final decision during the plenary meeting in December.
6. Letters received by the Presidency
Ms HASSI referred to the following letters received:
- Letters from Ms Áslaug Arna SIGURBJÖRNSDÓTTIR, Chair of the Standing Committee
on Foreign Affairs, Icelandic
Althingi;
Mr Hans-Peter PORTMANN, President of the
Swiss EFTA-EU delegation, Swiss
Assemblée fédérale;
Mr Tone Wilhelmsen TRØEN,
President of the Norwegian
Stortinget.
- A letter from Ms Blerta DELIU-KODRA, Chair of the Committee on European Integration
of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo
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.
The Chair also mentioned the letter from Mr Kristin VIGENIN, Bulgarian parliament, who had
announced to the delegations he would be leaving COSAC to take up his position of Deputy
Speaker. The Chair suggested to send him greetings of the COSAC Chair.
Mr MILOSEVIC said he was glad to receive a delegation from Kosovo during the plenary, and
wished that they had also been present for the Chairpersons meeting.
7. Any other business
There was no other business.
This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with Resolution 1244 of the United
Nations Security Council and to the opinion of the ICJ on the declaration of independence of Kosovo.
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