Brussels, 28/09/2010 (Agence Europe) - Speaking on Tuesday 28 September at the interparliamentary meeting which brought together the European Parliament foreign affairs committee and the subcommittee on security and defence as well as national MPs, the Belgian secretary of state for European affairs, Olivier Chastel, placed emphasis on the progress that will be made by the European External Action Service (EEAS) in common security and defence policy (CSDP). “This would be a major breakthrough and I am convinced the service will bring fresh impetus to European action. It will also help the Union shoulder its increasingly important international responsibilities”, he said. Speaking of the democratic control of this policy, he was adamant about the responsibilities that parliamentarians should assume. “It is up to you, national and European parliaments, to decide on the form to be given to interparliamentary cooperation within the EU and to develop a European security and defence culture”, he said. He went on to point out that the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Catherine Ashton, was willing to back and facilitate dialogue between parliaments. She will, moreover, attend the conference of the chairmen of the national foreign affairs committees on 18 October and the session of the EP foreign affairs committee in Brussels on 27 October. (A.By./transl.jl)