Bemutatás

The delegation includes 19 full members, backed up by a corps of substitute members. All the members of the delegation are apointed and the Chair and vice-Chairs are generally elected for a full parliamentary term. Each of the following mechanisms guarantees the good functioning of the Delegation:

Ordinary meetings

Monthly meetings in Brussels and Strasbourg serve to discuss the regional and country situation, the state of relations with the EU/EP and consider the necessary parliamentary diplomacy outreach. Exchanges of views with significant speakers - including from the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission's (EC) DG ECHO (European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations) and DG NEAR (Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations), the United Nations the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), think tanks focusing on Middle East policies and representatives of the civil sotiety - are organised at every meeting. Such discussions allow Members to be constantly updated on developments and challenges in the Mashreq and on the ways the EU addresses key issues in the region.

Meetings can also be held jointly with other EP committees, particularly those in charge of external action (AFET, DEVE, DROI or INTA) and with other standing Delegations when it comes to matters of shared interest or to common challenges.

Inter-parliamentary meetings (IPMs)

IPMS are held once a year, alternately between the host country and Brussels or Strasbourg. These meetings contribute to the strengthening of the relations between the EP and the Mashreq countries, thus improving mutual understanding. Since 2010, no such meetings have been held with Syria. The scope of topics addressed by the inter-parliamentary Delegation includes:

Ø the state of bilateral inter-parliamentary relations, along with bilateral political, economic, financial and social relations;

Ø human rights, the protection of minorities and the promotion of democratic values in the framework of existing EU policies and EP positions;

Ø the assessment of international agreements concluded between the EU and third countries;

Ø the external aspects of EU policies on the internal market;

Ø democratic scrutiny of the implementation of the EU's external funding instruments, including the assessment of the effectiveness of EU projects funded from the Union budget;

Ø the implementation of recommendations made in the course of election observation missions, in close cooperation with the parliamentary committees responsible.

As mentionned above, to meet with their members of parliament from the Mashreq countries, the delegation travels once a year to one of the counterpart countries.
These outgoing inter-parliamentary meetings/official visits serve to :

• strengthen bilateral relations between the parliaments,
• assess the political, economic and social situation of the countries and undertaken reforms in these fields,
• assess the human rights situation on the ground,
• meet with representatives from civil society organizations and
• visit and assess EU funded projects.