Brussels, 09/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Brussels on 6 and 7 November on the initiative of the Speaker of the Belgian Senate, Armand De Decker for a "Follow-up conference on the parliamentary dimension of the European Security and Defence Policy" (ESDP), the members of parliaments of EU Member States, the European Parliament and the Assembly of the Western European Union unanimously adopted a motion calling on Heads of State and Government of the Union to broaden the agenda of the next IGC to include "deepening integration in the area of foreign and security policy". The motion announces that national parliaments, the EP and the WEU Assembly "will submit proposals on parliamentary scrutiny of the ESDP".
British parliamentarians, however, did not approve a proposal by Mr. De Decker concerning the parliamentary dimension of ESDP, proposal that places emphasis of the democratic deficit that marks the development of this policy and recommends that, "for an interim period pending institutional changes (…) that will result from the next IGC, there should be a European Parliamentary Conference enabling parliamentarians and members of the European Parliament to hold an exchange of views on the European Security and Defence Policy, with the purpose of forming a common view on its needs and implementation". This text, adopted as contribution to the future Laeken Declaration, proposes that this Conference:
(a) be convened at least twice a year jointly by the Parliament of the Member State holding the EU Presidency and by the European Parliament;
(2) comprises three levels: - a session at the level of the chairmen of the committees on foreign affairs and defence of the national parliaments and the European Parliament, which would constitute the "Committee of Chairmen of the Conference"; - a session at European Union level bringing together, other than the chairmen, other members of these committees (up to a maximum of five members per country and with the EP entitled to one third of the number if national parliamentarians). At this level, the Conference would invite the EU Presidency, the high Representative for CFSP and, possibly, the European Commissioner for external relations to present a report on the development of ESDP; - a broad session bringing together representatives of the parliaments of the EU candidate countries and the non-EU European NATO countries, together with representatives of the WEU Assembly and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.