Relations with national parliaments
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- (see Doc. 6187, report of the Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations, Rapporteur: Mr Coleman). Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 21 March 1990
- Thesaurus
1. One of the aims of the Council of Europe is the strengthening of pluralist democracies and the harmonisation of national laws.
2. National parliaments play an essential role in the functioning of pluralist democracies.
3. Nevertheless, at the 2nd Strasbourg Conference (28-30 September 1987), there were indications that the position of parliaments was unsatisfactory in many member states.
4. An effort is therefore needed in our member states to improve and perfect the role of parliaments especially as, within the framework of the Council of Europe, they must promote the progress of East European countries towards pluralist democracy
5. The endeavours of each national parliament will be more fruitful if they form part of interparliamentary co-operation within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
6. The Assembly therefore recommends that national parliaments provide for ways of being better informed about its work and making a greater contribution to it, namely by :
6.1 publishing regular information bulletins about the activities of the Parliamentary Assembly where no such bulletin currently exists (minimum frequency desired : once per annum) ;
6.2 forwarding to national foreign affairs committees or, where appropriate, European affairs committees, the texts adopted by the Council of Europe for debate in the presence of the accredited members of the Parliamentary Assembly concerned
6.3 introducing debates (if they do not exist) on Council of Europe activities - debates which would be of greater relevance if they were prepared in the meetings recommended in paragraph ii above ;
6.4 ensuring, in countries where the national languages are neither French nor English, the translation of Council of Europe texts which have been selected for them by the Assembly.
