06/07/2012 President
Strasbourg, 06.07.2012 – Speakers of parliament from 23 countries are already signed up to address a major summit in September which will bring together parliamentary presidents from the 47 Council of Europe member states, as well as many neighbouring and observer countries.
Around 300 people are expected at the biennial European Conference of Presidents of Parliaments, which takes place in Strasbourg from 20 to 21 September 2012. The top legislators will be debating three major topical issues:
• The future of the European Court of Human Rights
• Is representative democracy in crisis?
• The Arab revolutions: challenges and opportunities
The first European Speakers’ Conference was held in 1975. It takes place every two years, hosted alternately in Strasbourg or in the capital of a Council of Europe member state.