WELCOME BY MR LLUĺS MARIA DE PUIG,

PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

TO MR ANGEL GURRÍA, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD)

(Strasbourg, Wednesday, 1 October 2008, 12h15)

Mr Secretary General,

We are extremely happy to welcome you once again to the Parliamentary Assembly for this enlarged debate on the activities of the OECD and the global economy, accompanied by Mr Aart de Geus, Deputy Secretary General.

Since last year it seems the member States of both our organisations need the expertise of the OECD more than ever.

The financial hurricane that has hit the United States, stalling global economic growth and sapping confidence in our financial system, has shaken the European economies too.

Parliaments have a key role in shaping appropriate policy responses, but in doing so they rely on the expertise of Organisations such as yours.

In this connection I would like also to greet our parliamentary guests from OECD countries that are not members of the Council of Europe, this year from Japan and Korea, together with the delegations that are of course already observers in this Assembly, Canada and Mexico. Thank you all for your contributions and we look forward to a lively debate.

Mr Secretary General, may I now ask you to take the floor.