Informal Meeting of Speakers of the EU Parliaments – Bratislava Parliamentary Summit

   

Date: 10/6/2016 - 10/7/2016 

Location: Reduta - Slovak Philharmonic, Bratislava Castle 

 

The project of a united Europe is going through turbulent times, full of unknown challenges that require a flexible response and constructive solutions. The continent, which was in the 20th century divided by the two most destructive conflicts in the human history in the 20th century later began to merge in order to create a real European community. The foundations of this community today, are in need of defense and it is essential for them to have a dialogue at all political levels. Therefore, especially the political leaders should be the primary initiators not only of the search, but also for finding ways back to the original values, on which the common European project is founded on.

 

The National Council of the Slovak Republic would like to contribute, from its point of view, to the debate on the current situation and the future direction of the European community.  As the country's Parliament, which currently presides over the EU Council, it intends to take a stand against the dynamic developments on the European scene, taking into account, among others, the results of the UK referendum on the exit from the EU. It strives to contribute to the deepening of cooperation between national parliaments and the European Parliament, as well as the progress of cooperation of the national parliaments themselves. The primary step in this effort is to create opportunities for the development of an open and informal dialogue.

 

In this context, an extraordinary informal summit of Speakers of the EU Parliaments of the EU and the European Parliament will be held in Bratislava on 6 - 7 October 2016. The „Bratislava Parliamentary Summit“ is part of the official calendar of the Slovak Presidency of the EU Council, as one of the events with the highest priority The „Bratislava Parliamentary Summit“ is part of the official calendar of the Slovak Presidency of the EU Council, as one of the events with the highest priority. The event is based on the initiative of the Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Mr. Andrej Danko, under the motto "Let's get to know each other better" and it should thematically follow on the idea of an informal summit of the EU Heads of States or Government and Prime Ministers of the EU member states, which took place in Bratislava on September 16, 2016.

 

The joint debate of the European parliamentary leaders, in the first part of the summit, is going to focus on the current challenges of the European integration project, as well as the possibility of bridging the gap between the EU and its citizens. In the second part, the parliamentary leaders will focus on the role of national parliaments in the EU, the internal cohesion and stability in the EU, as well as the issue of global EU engagement