Round Table of 7 May 1975 with Speakers (Presidents) of national parliaments
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 22 January 1975 (16th Sitting) (see Doc. 3523, report of the Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations). Text adopted by the Assembly on 22 January 1975 (16th Sitting).
The Assembly,
1. Recalling the Round Table with the participation of Speakers (Presidents) and Clerks (Secretaries General) of national parliaments, held on 7 May 1974, in connection with the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Council of Europe, and the report of its Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations (
Doc. 3523);
2. Recalling its
Resolution 104 (1956), instituting the above-mentioned committee, which is therein instructed, inter alia, to submit proposals within its field of competence, whenever appropriate, aimed at improving the effectiveness of the Assembly's activities, and its
Resolution 442 (1970) ;
3. Convinced that the impetus provided by the successful organisation of the Round Table should be maintained, particularly by reinforcing contacts between its own President and Speakers (Presidents) of national parliaments and of other European parliamentary assemblies ;
4. Welcoming the Communication addressed to it by the Committee of Ministers (
Doc. 3468, Addendum II) and the statement by the Secretary General during its part-session of September 1974, stressing the importance of intensifying the activities of the Council of Europe in the field of information and public relations ;
5. Convinced that the members of the Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations must enjoy the full confidence and co-operation of national delegations, if they are to fulfil their function effectively,
6. Invites :
a its President to further develop the practice of communicating texts selected from among those adopted by the Assembly to Speakers of national parliaments ;
b the national delegations :
to take steps to institute the practice, where it does not exist already, of presenting to their parliaments, annually or after each part-session, a report, with debate, on their activities at the Assembly, and to urge the introduction of any other measures likely to enhance the prestige of their European work ;
to co-ordinate their interventions in national parliaments more closely, e.g. by appointing "delegation whips" who might appropriately be members of the Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations ;
c the committees of the Assembly, when meeting in the capitals of member states, to develop the practice of arranging meetings with the corresponding committees of national parliaments ;
d all members of the Assembly, in liaison with the Directorate of Press and Information, to seek to arrange for the publication in their local press of articles on their activities in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe ;
7. Declares its intention to contribute to the elaboration of an effective public relations policy for the Council of Europe, and instructs its Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations to submit a report in due course.
