On March 23-24 in Tallinn, the Standing Committee meeting will be held as part of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. During the Standing Committee meeting, speeches are planned from, among others, the Speaker of the Estonian Parliament Lauri Hussar, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, and the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the NATO PA Yehor Chernyev. Participants will be presented with an online speech by the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk.
The agenda for the two-day meeting includes a debate on two draft declarations: “Shaping NATO for Future Generations in the Perspective of the Summit in Washington” and “United with Ukraine – Until Victory.” These documents will be presented by the NATO PA Chairman, MP Michał Szczerba. The event’s program also includes the adoption of the NATO PA Standing Committee Statement on the 75th Anniversary of NATO, which falls on April 4 this year. A document on the review and proposals for the reform of the NATO PA partnership policy will also be considered, including Malta and the Parliamentary Assembly of Kosovo’s applications for associate country status, documents on the priorities of the NATO PA Chairman for 2024, and plans for the NATO PA and its bodies’ activities in 2024, especially for the spring and annual NATO PA sessions, as well as considering the NATO PA financial documents.
The Standing Committee is the most important body of the NATO PA, whose main competence is to manage the work of the NATO PA, including setting dates and agendas for plenary sessions. The Standing Committee is composed of one representative from each member state nominated by each member delegation – usually, this is the head of the national delegation and one deputy member designated by the national delegation. The NATO PA Standing Committee meetings are also attended by the NATO PA President and Vice Presidents, the Treasurer, the chairpersons of the standing committees, and the chairperson of the Mediterranean and Middle East Group, as well as representatives of associate delegations (without voting rights).
Following Sweden’s accession to NATO on March 7 this year, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly consists of 279 members from 32 Alliance countries, as well as members from 12 associate countries and 4 associate country delegations from the Mediterranean region, as well as 8 parliamentary delegations with observer status. The NATO PA’s primary areas of interest include strengthening ties among NATO member states, particularly through promoting parliamentary democracy and parliamentary oversight of armed forces and security policy. The NATO PA is independent of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization but maintains regular and intense relations with NATO. The NATO PA meets during 2 plenary sessions (spring and autumn) held in various member states. The Assembly’s work also proceeds in 5 committees: the Political Committee, the Defence and Security Committee, the Economics and Security Committee, the Democracy and Security Committee, and the Science and Technology Committee, as well as other cooperation forums including the Mediterranean and Middle East Group and the NATO-Ukraine Interparliamentary Council.
