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On Wednesday, 21 May, the steering committee for planning the parliamentary dimension of the Latvian presidency of the Council of the European Union approved parliamentary meetings and conferences to be held during Latvia’s presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2015.

It is planned to host a total of six interparliamentary meetings, including the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC), which will be one of the biggest events organised by Saeima, bringing together more than 350 participants.Roughly the same number of participants is expected attend the Interparliamentary Conference on Economic and Financial Governance of the European Union established under Article 13 of the Fiscal Compact to be held next year in Brussels and organised by the European Parliament and the Saeima.

Riga will also welcome parliamentarians of all EU member states to the Interparliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Interparliamentary meetings are scheduled for committees responsible for economic, social and employment matters.

During today’s meeting, Inga Skujiņa, Director of the Secretariat of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, reported on progress regarding the presidency trio programme and the programme for Latvia’s six-month presidency, priorities of the presidency and topical issues regarding the current Greek presidency and forthcoming Italian presidency. 

The Steering Committee consists of representatives from all parliamentary groups, the group of unaffiliated members of parliament, as well as organisational units of the Saeima. The purpose of the Steering Committee, chaired by Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, is to draft the agenda of parliamentary events to be held during Latvia’s presidency of the Council of the European Union. 

Latvia will assume the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2015. The trio presidency will be shared by Italy, Luxembourg and Latvia, which means that three consecutive presidencies have to adopt the presidency trio programme for the whole 18-month period.

Photos from the meeting are available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/saeima/sets/72157644362341977/ 
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Saeima Press Service