Conference of Speakers of the European Union Parliaments in Mallorca

The Conference of Speakers of the European Union Parliaments was held in Palma de Mallorca between 21 and 23 April. The annual conference is hosted by the member state holding the EU presidency in the second half of the previous year. It forms part of the parliamentary dimension of the EU Council presidency, which aims to strengthen the role of national parliaments in the EU's legislative process.

The Conference of Speakers of EU Parliaments serves as a platform for exchanging views and fostering interparliamentary dialogue at the highest level. The presidents of the National Council and the Council of States spoke at the session on the EU's strategic autonomy in the face of the new challenges facing democracies, from social media and artificial intelligence to Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.

The president of the National Council advocated a broad and inclusive interpretation of the EU's concept of strategic autonomy in the face of these major challenges to include the EU's closest partners. For her part, the president of the Council of States announced that Switzerland would be organising the first high-level peace conference on 15 and 16 June, with the aim of identifying ways of achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine. She also expressed Switzerland's deep concern, as a member of the UN Security Council, about the progressive use of new technologies in armed conflicts and the risks they pose to civilians.

The presidents of the National Council and the Council of States took advantage of the opportunity to meet with counterparts from various EU countries, EU candidate countries and guest countries to increase contacts and raise awareness of Switzerland's relations with the EU. On the evening of 21 April, Eva Herzog and other women speakers of Parliament took part in a round table on women's leadership, at the invitation of the president of the Spanish Congress of Deputies, Francina Armengol.

Speeches by Presidents Eric Nussbaumer and Eva Herzog

​

​

​

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.