- This inter-parliamentary Conference shall be opened by the Speaker of the Senate, Pedro Rollán, and closed by the Speaker of the Congress of Deputies, Francina Armengol.
Next Monday, November 27, within the framework of the parliamentary dimension of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, the Cortes Generales, shall hold the LXX COSAC, which will bring together in Madrid parliamentary representatives of the Member States to discuss European affairs.
The opening session shall start at 9.30 with the addresses of the Speaker of the Senate, Pedro Rollán, and the Co-Chair of the Cortes Generales Delegation before the COSAC, José Ignacio Landaluce Calleja.
It will be followed by Session I, starting at 10.00, and dealing with the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares and the Secretary of State for the European Union, Pascual Navarro Ríos.
The second working session shall start at 12.00 and it will analyse the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, with the participation of the Minister of Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska; the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson; and the First Vice President of the European Parliament, Othmar Karas.
The third session, dealing with the Energy Crisis and Green Transition shall start at 4pm, and it will be attended by the Third Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Green Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, the Member of the European Parliament and rapporteur on the state of the Energy Union, Nicolás González Casares, and the member of the German Bundestag, Gunther Krichbaum.
Situation in Ukraine, relations with Latin America and closing session
The LXX COSAC shall resume on Tuesday, November 28. Thus, the fourth working session shall start at 9.30 to deal with the situation in Ukraine and relations with the European Union. This debate shall be attended by the Secretary General for Defence Policy, Admiral Juan Francisco Martínez Nuñez, the Chairperson of the EU Policies Committee of the Senate of the Republic of Italy, Giuliomaria Terzi di Sant´Agata, and the Chairperson of the Committee for Ukraine’s Integration in the European Union of the Ukrainian Rada, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.
The session on Open Strategic Autonomy and relations with Latin America shall start at 11.45 with the participation of the Secretary of State for Ibero America and the Caribbean and Spanish Language Worldwide, Juan Fernández Trigo, and the senior researcher of the Real instituto Elcano Carlos Malamud Rikles.
The Contribution and Conclusions of the LXX COSAC shall be adopted at 1pm and at 1.15pm the closing session shall start with the address by the Speaker of the Congress of Deputies, Francina Armengol, and the Co-Chair of the delegation of the Cortes Generales before the COSAC, Susana Sumelzo Jordán.
Parliamentary Dimension of the Spanish Presidency of the EU
The Global Conference on occasion of the International Day of Parliamentarism held in León marked the beginning of the parliamentary dimension of the Spanish Presidency of the EU. Thus, on June 30th, this town, recognized by UNESCO as cradle of parliamentarism, hosted the first meeting entitled “Strengthening Parliaments to enhance Democracy”. His Majesty the King inaugurated this international conference where the “León Declaration on Parliamentarism” was adopted.
Once inaugurated the European semester, the Cortes Generales are holding the scheduled meetings with a view to building consensus on matters of general interest. Thus, from July 24 to 27, the Upper Chamber hosted the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EUROLAT).
On the other hand, on September 17 and 18, the Senate hosted the meeting of Chairpersons of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs (COSAC).
On October 2, the parliamentary representatives of the Member States attended the Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance in the EU, which was likewise held at the Senate.
EU Member States take over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union every six months and on a rotatory basis. Since its accession to the then European Communities, Spain has held the biannual Presidency on four occasions: 1989, 1995, 2002 and 2010.