On 22 and 23 January 2017 the Maltese House of Representatives
will host the first meeting falling within the Parliamentary Dimension of the
Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The meeting of the
Chairpersons of the Conference of
Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of the Parliaments of the European
Union (COSAC) brings together the chairpersons of the European Affairs
Committees of national Parliaments of the European Union, members of the
European Parliament and observer countries. The main aim of the Chairpersons’ meeting
is to prepare the agenda of the LVII COSAC, which will meet in Malta between 28
and 30 May 2017. COSAC is the primary forum where members of parliament
exchange best practices and information on their role and relationship with the
European Union and European Institutions.
The two-day event starts with a meeting of the Presidential Troika.
Currently the Troika is presided by Malta, and comprises Slovakia, as the
Member State preceding the current presidency and Estonia as the country taking
over the presidency in the second half of 2017.
On 23 January, the meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC will
gather over 100 delegates and together they will discuss the agenda set by the
Maltese House of Representatives. The discussion will focus on the priorities
of the Maltese Presidency and the Commission Work Programme for 2017. The Conference
shall be opened by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Anġlu Farrugia. The keynote speakers
addressing the delegates include the Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for European Affairs and the Implementation of the Electoral Manifesto
Hon. Louis Grech,
Minister for Tourism Hon. Edward Zammit Lewis and the first Vice President of
the European Commission Frans Timmermans.
All the updates and necessary documentation concerning
this meeting can be accessed via the Parliamentary Dimension website www.parl.eu2017.mt. The meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC on Monday, 23 January 2917 shall
be streamed live on https://livestream.com/meetingofthechairpersonsofcosac2/events/6896850. Proceedings can be followed in
English on https://livestream.com/accounts/23069822/events/6896837.