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The Meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC, hosted by the Hungarian National Assembly in Budapest took place on 29 July 2024 and was preceded by the meeting of the Presidential Troika of COSAC on Sunday 28 July.

Mr István Jakab, Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, addressed the COSAC Chairpersons during the opening session. He welcomed delegates to the second COSAC organised by Hungary (the first was in 2011) and stressed the importance of interparliamentary cooperation.

The Hungarian Presidency will host the COSAC Chairpersons’ meeting in Budapest on Sunday 28 and Monday 29 July 2024.

The COSAC Chairpersons' meeting marks the opening event of the parliamentary dimension of the Council of the EU by the Hungarian National Assembly.

The conference will start with the Meeting of the COSAC presidential Troika on Sunday 28 July. The next day, the Chairpersons' meeting will begin with an opening session, during which Mr. István Jakab, Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly will give an opening speech. Following this, there will be dedicated session to procedural issues and miscellaneous matters.

The Spanish Presidency will organise the Conference of Speakers of the European Union Parliaments (EUSC) from 21-23 April 2024 in Palma de Mallorca.

The European Parliament will be represented by a delegation headed by First Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr Othmar Karas and Vice-President Dita Charanzova. They will be accompanied by staff from the Vice-Presidents' Secretariat and DG PART.

The EUSC will start with the Summit of Women Speakers and continue with discussions on important topics, such as the strategic autonomy of the European Union faced with the new challenges for liberal democracies and strengthening the European Union from an economic and social perspective.

The LXXI COSAC Plenary Meeting took place from 24 to 26 March 2024 at the European Parliament, within the framework of the parliamentary dimension of the Belgian Presidency of the Council.

The European Parliament delegation was headed by Mr Othmar Karas, First Vice-President responsible for the relations with national Parliaments and COSAC, and Mr Salvatore De Meo, as Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO). The other members of the delegation were Mr Vangelis Meimarakis (EPP/EL), Mr Domènec Ruiz Devesa (S&D/ES), Mr Marc Angel (S&D/LU) and Mr Helmut Scholz (The Left/DE).

The LXXI COSAC started with a welcome address from Eliane Tillieux, President of the Belgian House of Representatives and Mr. Gaëtan Van Goidsenhoven, Belgian Senator. They emphasized the key priorities of the Belgian Presidency, covering aspects such as gender equality policies, the defence of the rule of law, the EU strategy agenda for 2024-2029, EU strategic autonomy and EU enlargement reform. It was followed by a speech from Othmar Karas, First Vice-President, on behalf of the President of Roberta Metsola. He stressed the honour of hosting the COSAC at the hemicycle of the European Parliament, emphasizing the importance of the upcoming national and European elections and the need to raise awareness among citizens and encourage voter participation.

This FEMM interparliamentary committee meeting was organised around the topical subject of “Women in sport" on the occasion of the International Women’s Day 2024.

The European Parliament Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM), in cooperation with the Legislative Dialogue Unit of the Directorate for Relations with national Parliaments (DG PART), invited Members of national Parliaments of the EU Member States and EU Candidate Countries to attend an Interparliamentary Committee Meeting (ICM) in person, in Brussels.

The meeting took place on Thursday, 7 March from 9:00 - 12:30 CET in the European Parliament in Brussels in room ANTALL 4Q1.

The 24th session of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference on the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy took place on 3-5 March 2024 in Bruges, Belgium.

The meeting was organised by the Parliamentary Dimension of the Belgian Presidency (www.parleu2024.be). Members of Parliaments from EU national Parliaments, the European Parliament, observer and candidate countries as well as officials were invited.

Discussions were articulated around four main items: Supporting Ukraine against the Russian aggression; The ongoing process of enlargement; The Strategic Compass and EU Resilience; Priorities of the CFSP/CSDP and an urgent debate on the situation in the Middle East.

A staff seminar for officials of national Parliaments was also held in the margins of the Inter-parliamentary Conference on the topic of the Implementation of the Strategic Compass and the European Peace Facility.

In the context of the economic, employment and budgetary policies scrutiny, the European Parliament together with the Belgian Senate and the House of Representatives representing the parliamentary dimension of the Presidency of the Council of the EU organised the European Parliamentary Week 2024, on 12 and 13 February 2024 in the European Parliament in Brussels.

Annually the European Parliamentary Week brings together Parliamentarians from the European Union, candidate and observer countries to discuss economic, budgetary and social matters. It includes the Interparliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance in the European Union established by the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union (Fiscal Compact).

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) with the support of the Directorate for relations with National Parliaments organized an Interparliamentary Committee Meeting (ICM) on “The situation of the Rule of Law in the EU”.

The meeting took place on Monday, 4 December 2023, from 14.00 to 17.00, in the European Parliament premises in Brussels.
The interparliamentary committee meeting was dedicated to an assessment of the fourth Commission's rule of law report with a specific emphasis on combating corruption. The meeting served as a follow up on previous such interparliamentary meetings, including the one which took place in December 2022, as well as on the Parliament's resolution of 30 March 2023 on the Commission's 2022 Rule of Law Report. The meeting also served as input into the ongoing work on the LIBE own-initiative report on the Commission's 2023 Rule of Law Report.

The meeting, which was held in-person, provided the occasion for an in-depth exchange of views on the rule of law situation in the EU and on the role of National Parliaments in the context of the EU efforts to protect and enforce the Union values.

The European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) in cooperation with the Legislative Dialogue Unit of the Directorate for Relations with national Parliaments organized an Interparliamentary Committee Meeting (ICM) on "Participation of persons with disabilities in the electoral process" took place on Monday, 4 December 2023 from 16.00 to 18.30 CET in the European Parliament in Brussels (ANTALL building, room 6Q2), in physical presence and remotely.

The event was structured around two sessions. The first panel discussed "Participation of persons with disabilities in the electoral process ‐ State of play and remaining obstacles", and the second looked into "Preparing for the European elections 2024 ‐ How can improvements still be achieved?. The debate allowed for discussions on common experiences, to share best practices, foster mutual learning, and to raise awareness of the common challenges related to this right.

This event gathered alongside national and European Parliaments Members, Council and Commission representatives, as well as NGOs. In view of the upcoming European elections 2024, its first aim was identifying the state of play regarding persons' with disabilities participation in electoral processes, progress made and remaining legal or accessibility barriers. Subsequently, all participants were invited to share best practices and discuss how improvements can still be made for the upcoming European elections.