-The Speaker of the Congress of Deputies, Francina Armengol, shall open the meeting, to be closed by the Speaker of the Senate, Pedro Rollán.
Next Monday, October 2, the Cortes Generales, within the framework of the parliamentary dimension of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, shall hold the Inter-Parliamentary Conference on the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CFSP/CSDP), which will bring together in Madrid parliamentary representatives of Member States to discuss Defence and Security issues.
The opening session shall start at 9am with the addresses of the Speaker of the Congress of Deputies, Francina Armengol, and the Vice-Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, Željana Zovko.
The first session shall start at 9.30, dealing with the priorities of the CFSP/CSDP and the current challenges, within the framework of the 30th anniversary of the CFSP/CSDP. The acting Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, and the Chair of the Political and Security Committee of the Council of the European Union, Delphine Pronk, shall likewise address the meeting.
The second working session shall start at 11.30. It will tackle the threats posed by Russia, the invasion of Ukraine and global consequences. The Minister of Defence of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, and the Deputy Managing Director for Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia, Regional Cooperation and OSCE, of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Luc Devigne, shall address the meeting.
A third session shall take place in the afternoon dealing with the latest developments in the CFSP/CSDP sphere. The Special Envoy for Africa of the United Nations, Cristina Duarte, and the Managing Director for the Global Agenda and Multilateral Relations of the EEAS, Belén Martínez Carbonell, shall take the floor.
The fourth and last session shall start at 4.30 and it will deal with European Defence and the challenges to CSDP. The Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Teodoro López Calderón, and the Secretary General for Defence Policy, Admiral y Juan Francisco Martínez Núñez shall address the meeting.
The Speaker of the Senate, Pedro Rollán, shall closet he Inter-Parliamentary Conference on the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence policy of the EU. The closing session shall start at 6pm.
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).
In October, apart from the meeting of next October 2, the parliamentary representatives of Member States shall take part in the Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance in the EU, to be held likewise at the Senate, And, from November 26 to 28, the Congress of Deputies shall host the LXX COSAC Conference. 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.