Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the PA BiH Marinko Čavara participate in international conference in Spain on the International Day of Parliamentarianism

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina Marinko Čavara is participating in the international conference, which, on the International Day of Parliamentarianism, is being held in the city of Leon, Kingdom of Spain.

The conference brought together representatives of the parliaments of the member states of the European Union (EU), representatives of the parliaments of candidate countries for EU membership, and representatives of the parliaments of countries with a special partnership with the EU.

The conference is also an opportunity to mark the assumption of the presidency of the Kingdom of Spain in the Council of the EU.

The topics of the conference are emphasizing the key role of parliaments in promoting democracy around the world and the values of parliamentary institutions in the face of new challenges and threats to democracy, strengthening global parliamentary development and inter-parliamentary cooperation, and emphasizing the position of parliament as a key institution of representative democracy.

The mayor of León, José Antonio Diez, the deputy president of the European Parliament, Othmar Karas, and the president of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Marketa Pekarova Adamova spoke in the opening session.  

The Speaker of the Parliament of Sweden Andreas Norlén, the Speaker of the Parliament of Portugal August Ernest Santos Silva and the Speaker of the Parliament of Lithuania Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen spoke during the main session "Defense of European values and democratic institutions in the face of new challenges and threats to democracy".

Special importance was given to the conference by the arrival and the address of His Majesty King Philip VI, who in his speech emphasized the importance of the joint work of all parliaments. He put a special emphasis on democracy in the EU and member states that are facing growing extremism, misinformation, and citizens' sense of distance from their elected representatives.

During the discussion, the participants agreed that parliaments are one of the institutional pillars of representative democracy, along with elections and the rule of law. A strong and efficient parliament contributes to political stability, economic development, and quality of citizens’ lives. During the discussion at the conference participants agreed that parliaments in the EU, but also many other parliaments, are increasingly involved in parliamentary diplomacy and in providing a technical support for strengthening parliaments around the world, confirming that the support of other parliaments is the most effective way to share lessons learned and transfer expertise to developing parliaments, resulting in a stronger democracy. (End)