The VI Meeting of the three Standing Committees of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean kicked off today at the Palazzo dei Normanni, in Palermo, in preparation for the VI PAM Plenary Session to be held on the 29 October, 2011. Over 150 delegates from Mediterranean National Parliaments, other Regional Parliaments, International Institutions, the UN system and representatives of the Holy See, NGOs and sectoral organisations, are present at the PAM event.
The meeting was inaugurated by PAM Vice Presidents, Hon. Tayseer Quba’a (Palestine) and Sen. Francesco Maria Amoruso (Italy)
Hon. Quba’a welcomed all those delegates who were participating for the first time at a PAM meeting following elections in a number of Mediterranean countries and changes in the national delegations. He also thanked guests and institutions who have joined PAM in Palermo for this important event at a very critical moment for the region.
He expressed his appreciation to the Italian Parliament and the Regional Assembly of Sicily for hosting the annual gathering of Mediterranean parliamentarians and added that PAM is taking advantage of the Mediterranean heritage of the city of Palermo to strengthen the links that have been established at Parliamentary level with the creation of PAM.
Senator Amoruso referred to the main topics that the Assembly has debated during these years, among which, the Middle East, the constitutional reform in Bosnia Herzegoniva, the establishment of the PAM Panel of External Trade and Investments and nuclear energy.
During the day the following reports and resolutions were presented and discussed:
Within the 1st Standing Committee on Political Cooperation and Security chaired by Hon. Quba’a:
Report and Resolution on the Middle East – Hon. George Vella (Malta)
Report and Resolution on Constitutional changes in Bosnia & Herzegovina – Hon. Miro Petek (Slovenia)
Special Task Force on Organised Crime; Report and Resolution on The Interconnection between Organised Crime and Terrorism in the Mediterranean – Hon. Angela Napoli (Italy)
Special Task Force on Terrorism; Report and Resolution on New Strategies and perspectives in Countering Terrorism – Hon. Askin Asan (Turkey) – presented by Hon. Menderes Turel (Turkey).
Within the 2nd Standing Committee on Economic, social and environmental cooperation and development chaired by Sen. Francesco Amoruso (Italy):
Special Task Force on Environment and Climate Change – Report and Resolution on Disaster prevention and management in the Mediterranean marine space resulting from oil or gas leakage – Hon. Nikolaos Nikolopoulos (Greece)
Report and Resolution on Civil Nuclear Energy – Sen. Lhou Lmarbouh (Morocco)
Report and Resolution on Water and Tourism – Sen. Jacques Blanc (France) – presented by Hon. Michel Vauzelle (France).
The presentations were followed by a debate among the parliamentarians who contributed towards the final documents to be presented for adoption at the Plenary Session of the Assembly on Saturday 29 October 2011.
Tomorrow Reports and Resolutions pertaining to the 3rd Standing Committee on Dialogue between Cultures and Civilisations and Human Rights will be presented and discussed.