  |
|
|
The Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association has the honour to present its report on the Meetings of the Standing Committee and the Secretaries of Delegation, April 4-6, 2009. Canada was represented by Mr. Leon Benoit, M.P., Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, Senator Jane Cordy and Ms. Jodi Turner, Association Secretary. SECRETARIES OF DELEGATION MEETING The Secretaries of Delegation met on Saturday, April 4th, 2009 and the meeting was chaired by Ms. Snieguole Zuikaite, Secretary of the Lithuanian Delegation. Topics discussed were as follows: · Overview of the programme of the meetings in Vilnius · Consideration of the Draft Agenda of the Standing Committee meeting · Discussion regarding preparation of the Spring Session in Oslo, Norway, from 22 to 26 May 2009 o Draft Programme o Programme for Accompanying Persons o General Information · Discussion regarding preparation of the 55th Annual Session in Edinburgh, United Kingdom from 13 to 17 November 2009 o Draft Programme · Discussion regarding preparation of future sessions and meetings o Standing Committee meeting in Memphis, United States, 26-28 March 2010 o Spring Session in Riga, Latvia, 28 May – 1 June 2010 o Annual Session in Warsaw, Poland, 12-16 November 2010 o Meetings in 2011 and 2012 · Discussion regarding the liaison between Delegations and the International Secretariat · Any other business STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING The Standing Committee met on Sunday, April 5th, 2009 and the meeting was chaired by Mr. John Tanner, President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and Representative from the United States. The Standing Committee addressed many issues, including the extensive report of the Working Group on Assembly Reform. Several significant decisions were taken while other matters were deferred to the forthcoming Standing Committee meeting in Oslo at the end of May. Major Decisions Taken By the Standing Committee in Vilnius Assembly Officers: · Mr. Assen Agov (Bulgaria) was confirmed in his position as Assembly Vice-President Relations with Russia: · There will be no change in Russian participation in Assembly events; the delegation will be limited to participation in sessions, meetings of the NATO-Russia Parliamentary Committee and the New Parliamentarians Programme. · At sessions, the Russian delegation will be composed of ten members. · The International Secretariat will prepare a “checklist” of issues pertinent to relations with Russia. Relations with Belarus · Belarus should feature as one of the subjects addressed in the Rose-Roth Seminar in Ukraine in October and should be studied by either or both the Political Committee and the Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security. · The political situation in Belarus does not warrant any further reconsideration of the Assembly’s relationship with Belarus at this time. Relations with Georgia · The Bureau (or the Standing Committee) should appoint two Special Coordinators to work with the leader of the Georgian Delegation to ensure that the Assembly’s overall programme provides the appropriate prominence to Georgia-related matters. · This group would be designated a the “NATO PA-Georgia Steering Group”. Its members would participate in the Coordination Meetings and all Assembly activities pertinent to Georgia. Participation in Sessions · Spring Sessions from 2010 will involve Member and Associate member delegations only. · Parliamentary Observer delegations and delegations from interparliamentary assemblies will be limited to two rather than the current three delegates. · Staff accompanying non-member delegations will be limited to a maximum of one per three delegates. · If the number of staff accompanying member delegations exceeds one per three delegates, staff above and beyond that limit should not participate in receptions and other social events. Status of Non-Member Delegations: · The term, “Regional Partners and Mediterranean Associate Members” will replace the designation “Mediterranean Associate Members”. · Delegations in that category will be limited to a maximum of three delegates. · All forms of non-member status will lapse by default if a delegation does not participate in an Assembly session over three consecutive years. · A delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean will be invited as a Parliamentary Guest to a future session. Parliamentary Transatlantic Forum · The Parliamentary Transatlantic Forum will be restricted to member delegations, although associate members may be invited on an ad hoc basis if warranted by the subjects under discussion. Many other matters were discussed during the meeting, and where certain decisions could not be taken, the matters were deferred to the next round of deliberation at the forthcoming Standing Committee meeting in Oslo.
Respectfully submitted,
|
|
 |