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| "Family photo" from the last Conference - held in Budapest on 6 - 7 May 2005 |
The Conference of the Speakers of European Union Parliaments, is a forum where the Speakers of the parliaments of Member States of the European Union and the European Parliament meet annually. The focus of the Conference is to provide information and strengthen parliamentary scrutiny in all areas of competence of the EU. In addition, the Conference promotes studies and joint actions by the Speakers on various topics relating to the role of Parliaments and the organization of parliamentary functions.
Prior to the meetings of the Speakers, the General Secretaries of the National Parliaments and the European Parliament meet in order to prepare the Speakers agenda. In addition, a troika comprising the previous, present and future host Parliament of the Conference meets in order to coordinate the work and meetings of the Conference. The present troika consists of Hungary, Denmark and Slovakia.
A short history of the Conference
Following two isolated Conferences held in Rome in 1963 and Strasbourg in 1973, the Conference of the Speakers of European Union Parliaments has been held regularly since 1975. At the meeting in 1999, at the Lisbon Conference it was decided to hold the Conference annually for the Parliaments of EU member states and the European Parliament. Prior to the meeting in Lisbon, the meetings were held alternately between a Parliament from an EU member state and a Parliament from a member state of the Council of Europe. [List of Speakers Conferences]
In September 2000 at the Rome Conference the guidelines for the functioning of the Speakers Conference were adopted. These guidelines define the tasks and aims of the Conference and the principal aspects regarding the organization of its work.
At the meeting in Hague in 2004, a set of guidelines laying down a set of principles governing interparliamentary cooperation in the European Union were adopted by the Conference (the so called "Hague Guidelines"). These guidelines were the result of work conducted by a working group set up at the prior meeting in Athens (the so called "Athens Group").
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