Interparliamentary cooperation in the EU

Regular and other meetings

By cooperating with each other and with the European Parliament, the national parliaments in the EU member states are to contribute to an efficiently functioning EU. Interparliamentary cooperation within the EU takes the form of various meetings between members working with similar issues in the national parliaments, where they take part in discussions and exchange experiences.

There are meetings that take place regularly and individual meetings are held to discuss current issues. The parliament of the member state holding the presidency of the Council of Ministers, for example, holds meetings on subjects the parliament has chosen, during the sixth months of the presidency. The committees of the European Parliament may also arrange interparliamentary meetings on current issues, to which members from the national parliaments are invited.

Members of the Riksdag committees and the Committee on EU Affairs participate

The members of the Riksdag who participate in the conferences are appointed by the Committee on EU Affairs and the sectoral committees depending on the subject matter of each conference..

One exception is the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol. Members of the Riksdag from the Riksdag's JPSG delegation participate in these meetings. The Riksdag chooses this delegation for an electoral period, that is, for four years.

Interparliamentary Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs

The objective of the Conference for the Committees for Union affairs for the National Parliaments, COSAC, is to bring together members of the committees for Union affairs of the national parliaments and the European Parliament to discuss current EU matters that concern the role of national parliaments in the EU.

COSAC can submit opinions and announcements concerning EU activities, known as contributions, to the EU institutions and national parliaments. COSACS’s contributions are not binding for the national parliaments. COSAC can also adopt conclusions concerning its activities.

COSAC is an abbreviation from the French, Conférence des organes spécialisés dans les affaires communautaires, which means Conference of Parliamentary Committees for EU Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union.

COSAC meets four times a year. Members of the Riksdag Committee on EU Affairs participate in COSAC.

About COSAC on the IPEX website

Interparliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy

The interparliamentary conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy, also known as the CFSP/CSDP conference, enables the exchange of information and experience between parliaments regarding EU Common Foreign and Security Policy and Common European Security and Defence Policy. The Conference can reach various conclusions that can be sent to the EU institutions for their information. The conclusions are not binding for the national parliaments. The CFSP/CSDP Conference is held twice a year. Members of the Riksdag Committee on Foreign Affairs and Committee on Defence participate in this conference.

The CFSP/CSDP Conference on the IPEX website

Interparliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance

The interparliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance in the EU – the SECG Conference – is intended to contribute to an exchange of information and experience on the implementation of the EU’s work on economic policy. One purpose of the Conference is to promote interparliamentary cooperation and democratic accountability as regards financial management and budget policy in the EU. The SECG Conference is held twice a year.

It is primarily members of the Riksdag Committee on Finance who participate in this conference. However, depending on which issues that are to be raised at a particular meeting, members from other Riksdag committees may participate, for example the Committee on Taxation or the Committee on the Labour Market.

The SECG Conference on the IPEX website

Meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol

The Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol - the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, is also referred to as JPSG Europol. The JPSG Europol scrutinises how Europol performs its duties. In order to carry out its scrutiny, it can access various documents and interview leading officials. JPSG Europol is also to be consulted when Europol's multiannual programme planning is drawn up. JPSG Europol meets twice a year. Members of the Riksdag from the Riksdag's JPSG delegation participate in these meetings.

As from the spring of 2019, the Riksdag has chosen a delegation for a full electoral period, that it four years, to JPSG Europol.

• Members of the JPSG delegation
• The JPSG Conference on the IPEX website

The EU Speakers’ Conference coordinates

The Speakers of the EU member states’ national parliaments and the European Parliament meet in the EU Speakers Conference to coordinate and develop interparliamentary cooperation in the EU at a general level. The EU Speakers Conference is held once a year in the spring.

The EU Speakers Conference has adopted guidelines on interparliamentary cooperation in the EU. The guidelines set out that the national parliaments in the EU member states should contribute to the smooth functioning and democratic legitimacy of the EU. The objectives of interparliamentary cooperation in the EU are, among other things, to:

• promote exchange of information and experience in order to strengthen parliamentary control and influence;
• ensure that the powers of the parliaments as regards EU issues are exercised effectively, for example when it comes to the parliaments’ right to examine whether proposals for new EU legislation should be decided at EU level or in the member states themselves; and
• promote cooperation with parliaments in countries outside the EU.

The EU Speakers Conference on the IPEX website

Cooperation between officials

Within the framework of interparliamentary cooperation in the EU, there is also collaboration between the officials at the national parliaments. One example of this is IPEX (Interparliamentary EU Information Exchange), which is a website for exchange of information on the consideration of EU matters between the national parliaments of the EU member states and with the European Parliament.

Another example of cooperation between officials from the EU member states is the network of representatives from the EU member states’ national parliaments in Brussels. All the parliaments of the EU member states have one or more officials in Brussels who monitor what is happening in the EU institutions and exchange information on what the various parliaments are doing regarding EU matters. The Riksdag has one such official in Brussels, which is included in the network of representatives from the member states.

The IPEX website