In June 2009, the Parliamentary Assembly adopted Resolution 1680 (2009) on the “Establishment of a “partner for democracy” status with the Parliamentary Assembly” in which it reaffirmed its strong commitment to developing co-operation with neighbouring regions as a means of consolidating democratic transformations and promoting stability, good governance, respect for human rights and the rule of law.
The Parliaments of Morocco, Kyrgyzstan and Jordan, as well as the Palestinian National Council, obtained partner for democracy status. Parliamentarians from these countries regularly take part in the work of the Assembly and its committees, thus availing themselves of the opportunity to benefit from the Assembly’s experience in democracy building and to contribute to the political debate on common challenges which transcend European boundaries.
The Assembly has considered reports on the evaluation of the partnership for democracy in respect of the parliaments enjoying this status (with the exception of the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic), and has reviewed progress made in achieving the statutory goals of the partnership.
Ten years after the introduction of partner for democracy status, the Assembly should take stock of the experience of co-operation with its four partners and consider ways of improving the functioning of the partnership with a view to making it more meaningful and effective both for the Assembly and the partners.