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RESULTS OF THE PREPARATORY MEETING
OF THE INAUGURAL SESSION OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN
Naples (Italy), 26 June 2005

Noted by the IPU Governing Council at its 177th session
(Geneva, 18 October 2005)

  1. The Preparatory Meeting of the Inaugural Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) took place at La Maison de la Méditerranée in Naples (Italy) on 26 June 2005. The meeting was hosted by the Italian Parliament and was attended by 58 delegates from the main and associate participants in the CSCM process.

  2. Following recent developments, it was agreed to include in the agenda an examination of relations with the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA). Mr. Salles informed the participants that letters had been addressed to the Presidents of national parliaments of the European Union by Mr. Josep Borell Fontelles, President of the European Parliament, requesting them to reconsider the establishment of a Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. All members present reaffirmed their national parliaments' support for the decision to establish a Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean.

  3. The participants therefore decided that an explanatory note should be sent, on their behalf, to presidents of national parliaments members of the CSCM process, to allay any concerns about duplication between the PAM and the EMPA. The participants also agreed that a delegation comprising the President, Mr. Salles, and the two co-rapporteurs, Mr. Radi and Mrs. Papadimitriou, should meet with President Borell to clarify the nature of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and discuss ways of ensuring that the themes chosen for discussion at future sessions of the two assemblies would not be similar, thus avoiding any duplication.

  4. After an exchange of views on the revised draft rules of procedure, the members accepted several amendments to the draft rules. It was agreed that these revised rules would be sent to the members for consideration, modified in the light of comments received, and subsequently made available to all members for further discussion and adoption at the Inaugural session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean.

  5. The participants were briefed by the IPU Secretary General on the difficulties in preparing a budget for the PAM. The budget for the PAM would essentially comprise two parts; those costs relating to the running of a secretariat, which would be determined by the location of the headquarters, and those costs relating to hosting an assembly session and committee meetings. It was agreed that the IPU would draw up terms of reference outlining the nature of the costs relating to both the running of a secretariat and the hosting of an Assembly session. The terms of reference would be sent to member parliaments who could then put forward proposals for the headquarters of the secretariat and for the venue of the Assembly and committee sessions. The IPU would submit these proposals to the members at the Inaugural Session of the PAM, who would then be in a position to choose a headquarters and a venue for the second session of the PAM, and thus also establish a budget for the PAM.

  6. It was agreed that the IPU would continue to provide secretarial support to the PAM until the end of 2006, under the annual budget adopted by the members in February 2005 at the Fourth CSCM in Nafplion. The PAM is expected to have its own budget and an established headquarters by 1 January 2007.

  7. The participants discussed the preparation of a political declaration to be adopted at the Inaugural Session of the PAM. They decided to create a working group, supported by the IPU, to draft the declaration. The draft would be forwarded to members for their comments, which would be incorporated in the document prior to the Inaugural Session.

  8. Following an exchange of views, the participants accepted the Secretary General's recommendation that the IPU, together with the parliament of Jordan, would finalise the date (sometime in mid November) for the Inaugural session of the PAM, taking into consideration the various holidays, meetings and parliamentary elections taking place around that time.

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