EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS OF PARLIAMENTS

European Conference of Presidents of Parliaments
May 30-31, 2006 Tallinn, Estonia

EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS OF PARLIAMENTS - Historical background

In 1973 the Speakers and Presidents of the European Parliamentary Assemblies, together with the President of the Assembly of the Council of Europe and the President of the Assembly of the European Communities met for the first time in Paris. They considered that contacts of this kind could not fail to be beneficial and wished to contribute to the growth of European awareness in their respective countries as well as to the study of all problems arising with the adaptation of representative parliamentary democracies to conditions in the modern world.

Since 1975 further conferences were held at regular intervals and with an ever-increasing number of participating parliaments, corresponding to the member States of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, its Special Guests and Observers.

Conferences were organised in Rome (1975), Bonn (1976), Vienna (1977), The Hague (1978), Madrid (1980), London (1982), Copenhagen (1984), Lisbon (1986), Bern (1988), Brussels (1990), Strasbourg (1992), The Hague (1994), Budapest (1996), Stockholm (1998) and Strasbourg (2000), Zagreb (2002), Strasbourg (2004).

The rhythm of approximately one conference every two years led the European Parliament to organise conferences specifically devoted to European Community matters and restricted to Presidents of parliaments of European Union States. After a first special conference in 1963, followed by another in 1973 in Paris, a series of European Community Speakers conferences was started in 1981 in Luxembourg.

Traditionally only Presidents or Speakers of each Chamber (who may be represented by a Vice-President) have the right to speak. Secretaries General accompany the Presidents.

Since the creation of the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation in 1977, a report on the activities of the Centre is presented regularly to the Conference of Presidents of Parliaments.