EUU, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 527: Referat fra COSAC-møde og Trojka-møde i Stockholm 14-16/5-23

Europaudvalget 2022-23 (2. samling)
EUU Alm.del Bilag 527
Offentligt

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PRESIDENTIAL TROIKA OF COSAC

TOCKHOLM

, S

WEDEN

, 14 M

2023

PRESENT AT THE MEETING

CHAIR: Mr Hans WALLMARK and Ms Matilda ERNKRANS, respectively Chair and

Vice-Chair of the Committee on European Union Affairs of the Swedish

Riksdag;

Ms Susana SUMELZO, Chair of the Joint Committee for EU Affairs of the Spanish

Cortes Generales,

and Rubén MORENO, Member of the Joint Committee for EU

Affairs of the Spanish

Cortes Generales;

Mr Ondřej KOLÁŘ, Chair of the Committee on European Affairs of the Czech

Poslanecká sněmovna;

Ms Adéla ŠÍPOVÁ, Vice-Chair of the Committee on EU Affairs

of the Czech

Senát;

Mr Othmar KARAS, First Vice-President, European Parliament; Mr Salvatore DE

MEO, Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, European Parliament.

AGENDA

PROCEEDINGS

1. Adoption of the draft agenda of the Meeting of the Presidential Troika of

COSAC

2. Approval of the draft programme of the plenary meeting of the LXIX COSAC 2

3. Presentation of the 39th Bi-annual Report of COSAC

4. Draft Contribution and Conclusions : plenary meeting of the LXIX COSAC

5. Letters received by the Presidency

6. Any other business

EUU, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 527: Referat fra COSAC-møde og Trojka-møde i Stockholm 14-16/5-23

PROCEEDINGS

1. A

DOPTION

COSAC

OF THE DRAFT AGENDA OF THE

EETING

OF THE

RESIDENTIAL

ROIKA

Mr Hans WALLMARK, Chair of the Committee on European Union Affairs of the

Swedish

Riksdag

welcomed the delegations of the Presidential Troika of COSAC

(hereinafter referred to as "the Troika") to Stockholm. He then referred to the

draft

agenda of the meeting of the Troika,

previously circulated to all delegations, which was

adopted without amendment.

2. A

PPROVAL OF THE DRAFT PROGRAMME OF THE PLENARY MEETING OF THE

LXIX COSAC

Mr WALLMARK introduced the

draft agenda of the LXIX COSAC,

mentioning the

four thematic sessions which would be covered during the meeting:

the first session would be dedicated to an overview of the Swedish

Presidency of the Council of the EU;

the second session would discuss the 30 years of the Single Market;

the third session would be focused on the EU’s path towards a green

transition;

and the fourth and final session would focus on Ukraine.

Since there were no additional remarks on the draft agenda for the LXIX COSAC, Mr

WALLMARK ended this debate by noting the support of the Troika to the proposed

draft programme, which was approved.

3. P

RESENTATION OF THE

ANNUAL

EPORT OF

COSAC

Mr WALLMARK referred to the

39th Bi-annual Report of COSAC,

which was drafted

by the COSAC Secretariat on the basis of replies to the related questionnaire circulated

to national Parliaments/Chambers on 14 February 2023, with a deadline on 16 March

for submitting the answers. Mr WALLMARK thanked the COSAC Secretariat for their

work and gave the floor to its Permanent Member, Mr Bruno DIAS PINHEIRO, to

present the Report.

Mr DIAS PINHEIRO emphasised the fact that all the 39 Parliaments/Chambers and the

European Parliament had replied to the questionnaire, expressing the expectation that

the findings of the Report might prove useful not only for the COSAC Plenary but also

for the works in the months ahead.

He further recalled that the three chapters of the Report were dedicated to: 1. the role of

Parliaments/Chambers in the handling of the Fit for 55 package; 2. the role of

Parliaments/Chambers in the accelerated decision-making processes in response to

crises; 3. the best practices for information exchange between Parliaments, including the

use of IPEX.

EUU, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 527: Referat fra COSAC-møde og Trojka-møde i Stockholm 14-16/5-23

The main results from the Report were summarised in a

short video clip

produced by the

Permanent Member and presented at the end of his intervention.

4. D

RAFT

ONTRIBUTION

COSAC

AND

ONCLUSIONS

OF THE PLENARY MEETING OF THE

LXIX

Mr Hans WALLMARK introduced the procedure regarding the adoption of

Contribution and Conclusions by the LXIX COSAC, recalling that the Presidency had

consulted the Troika for comments and reactions about the initial drafts of the

Contribution and Conclusions on 14 April 2023. After that consultation, the Presidency

prepared a revised draft that was circulated to all delegations on 28 April.

He noted that several amendments to the drafts had been put forward by delegations

within the set deadline of 5 May and that the Presidency had distributed a table with

those amendments to the Troika on 10 May, together with revised compromise texts of

the Contribution and Conclusions.

He also mentioned that the Swedish Presidency had tried to present a concise text that

would reflect the topics actually discussed at the COSAC meetings. He briefly

commented on the amendments received, referring that the Presidency had tried to

accommodate most of them, but trying to keep the text balanced and susceptible of

reaching consensus amongst delegations. With regard to the draft Conclusions, Mr

WALLMARK informed that no amendments were received within the deadline of 5

May, but that the European Parliament had asked for the insertion of a reference to the

Conclusions of the Presidency of the Conference of Speakers of the European Union

Parliaments held in Prague on 24-25 April 2023, in particular the invitation to COSAC

to propose an exchange of best practices and to reflect on possible ways to strengthen

modern parliamentarism. This suggestion was accommodated by the Swedish

Presidency.

Mr Othmar KARAS, First Vice-President, European Parliament took the floor to thank

the Presidency for the excellent preparatory work ahead of the LXIX COSAC, including

on the drafts of the Contribution and Conclusions. He noted that the consensus reached

on both texts showed how the Troika was united and operating in a very good

atmosphere. Mr KARAS informed that the European Parliament supported the

Presidency compromise text of the Contribution, as being a balanced draft which

identified potential points for future action. On the Conclusions, he appreciated the

inclusion of the above-mentioned proposal to make reference to the Conclusions of the

Presidency of the Conference of Speakers of the European Union Parliaments,

emphasising how it was important that COSAC could establish this link with the

Conference of Speakers. Furthermore, he noted that the consensus reached on the texts

should be mentioned during the meetings of the political groups that would take place

the next day.

Mr KARAS also expressed his appreciation for the work of the COSAC Secretariat and

highlighted that the results of the 39th COSAC Bi-annual report identify the challenges

EUU, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 527: Referat fra COSAC-møde og Trojka-møde i Stockholm 14-16/5-23

ahead for the EU and Parliaments, noting that not all of them were involved in the same

way in the oversight of EU matters.

The draft Contribution and Conclusions were therefore approved by the Troika.

5. L

ETTERS RECEIVED BY THE

RESIDENCY

Mr WALLMARK recalled the following letters received by the Presidency requesting

invitations to attend the COSAC meetings that were received before the Chairpersons

meeting:

Mr Benedikt WÜRTH, President of the Swiss delegation for relations with the

European Parliament, Swiss

Assemblée fédérale;

Mr Masud GHARAHKHANI, President of the Norwegian

Stortinget;

Lord Charles KINNOULL, Chair of the European Union Committee, United

Kingdom (UK)

House of Lords;

Mr Bjarni JÓNSSON, Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of

the Icelandic

Althingi;

Ms Maka BOTCHORISHVILI, Chair of the Committee on European Integration

of the Georgian

Sakartvelos p'arlament'I;

Ms Rrezarta KRASNIQI, Chair of the Committee on European Integration,

Kosovo

Kuvendi i Kosovës.

He also mentioned that ahead of the LXIX COSAC meeting, letters requesting an

invitation to attend the Plenary were also received from Sir William CASH, UK

House

of Commons,

and from Brigitte BOCONE-PAGES, President of the

Conseil National

Monaco, and Régis BERGONZI, Chair of the respective Committee on Negotiations

with the European Union.

Mr WALLMARK said that, following consultation with the Presidential Troika of

COSAC, invitations had been extended to all the above-mentioned Parliaments to take

part in the LXIX COSAC.

Finally, he also alluded to the letter sent to the Presidency with the Conclusions of the

meeting of the Committees on European Affairs of the Parliaments of the Visegrád

countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), held in Budapest

between 16–18 April 2023.

All the letters mentioned were made available on

IPEX.

This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244(1999) and

the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

EUU, Alm.del - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 527: Referat fra COSAC-møde og Trojka-møde i Stockholm 14-16/5-23

6. A

NY OTHER BUSINESS

Mr WALLMARK reminded that the co-financing of the current Permanent Member and

the office of the COSAC Secretariat would end on 31 December 2023 and that the

Swedish Presidency had invited Parliaments to renew their commitment to the

co-financing agreement for the period from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2025. He

then announced that 39 out of the 39 National Parliaments/Chambers had signed and

sent their letters of intent indicating that they were willing to participate in the

co-financing for the above stated period, emphasising the fact this procedure could

therefore be initiated and concluded during the Swedish Presidency and thus the

co-financing of the Permanent Member and the office of the COSAC Secretariat would

continue.

Mr WALLMARK recalled that, on the deactivation of the old COSAC website

(www.cosac.eu), no objections were communicated to the Presidency by the set deadline

of 10 May and therefore Conclusions of the LXIX COSAC Plenary would take note of

the decision to end the old website, and the COSAC Secretariat would be tasked with

implementing that decision, effective as of 2023/24.

Mr WALLMARK concluded the meeting by thanking colleagues for the participation

and for the good cooperation within the Presidential Troika of COSAC.