Brussels, 08/11/2004 (Agence Europe) - The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary when it holds its annual session from 12 to 16 November, in Venice.
Iraq and Afghanistan will naturally be on the agenda, as well as NATO reform and its relations with the European Union. The Assembly is expected to adopt a report by Jos Van Gennip, of the Netherlands, on the theme "Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development: The Challenge in Iraq and Afghanistan". John Smith of Britain will submit a report on "The Development of Response Forces in NATO and the EU and the evolving NATO-EU Relationship" Another text will cover EU-NATO cooperation in South-East Europe, and a third will be entitled "The EU Security Concept: - Implications for NATO and the EU". John Shimkus, of the USA, will propose his report on "Alliance-wide progress on meeting the Prague Capability Commitments". The president of the Parliamentary Assembly, Doug Bereuter, will open the plenary session. General James Jones, Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, the Italian Foreign Minister and Marcello Pera, President of the Italian Senate, will then take the floor. (Source: our publication Atlantic News).