12/10/2026 European Conference of Presidents of Parliament
Threats against democracy, the challenge of AI and what parliaments can do to renew the rules-based international order will be the three headline themes at a summit of Speakers and Presidents of Parliament from the 46 member states of the Council of Europe and beyond which takes place in Rome on 15-16 October 2026, fifty years after the event was first held in the city.
Around 70 Speakers or Deputy Speakers and around 500 delegates are expected at the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament, which is held every two years under the auspices of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The conference is hosted this year by the Italian Parliament, which first hosted the event in Rome in 1975.
Speakers from the parliaments of several Council of Europe partner, observer and neighbouring countries will also attend, as well as the heads of several interparliamentary assemblies.
An opening ceremony at 10.30 a.m. on Thursday 15 October sees welcome addresses by the Presidents of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Lorenzo Fontana and the Italian Senate Ignazio La Russa, as well as PACE President Petra Bayr and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani (to be confirmed).
This will be followed by separate debates on the three themes, each introduced with keynote addresses from three national Speakers:
Ahead of the opening, there will be a working breakfast for women Presidents of Parliament attending the conference, on the theme “From backlash to breakthrough: women acting united for their rights” (closed to media). The Secretaries General of participating parliaments will also hold a working meeting on the sidelines of the event.
The first European Conference of Presidents of Parliament was held in 1975. It takes place in principle every two years, hosted alternately in Strasbourg and in the capital of a Council of Europe member state. The most recent conferences took place in Strasbourg (2025), Dublin (2023) and Athens (2021).