In 2015 Lithuania is holding the Presidency in the Baltic Assembly and
the Baltic Council of Ministers
The Baltic Assembly is an international organisation for cooperation among the parliaments of the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, and the Republic of Lithuania, founded on the basis of the Joint Decision adopted by the members of the Supreme Councils of the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, and the Republic of Lithuania in Vilnius on 1 December 1990. The Baltic Assembly functions on the basis of the Agreement of the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, and the Republic of Lithuania on Parliamentary and Intergovernmental Cooperation of the Baltic States signed in Tallinn on 13 June 1994, the Statutes of the Baltic Assembly and other legal acts adopted by the Baltic Assembly and its bodies.
The Baltic Assembly is an entity under international law, established on 8 November 1991 in Tallinn with the headquarters of its Secretariat based in Riga, Latvia (http://baltasam.org/en/).
The Baltic Assembly has its own symbols and a flag, the use of which is governed by the appropriate regulations approved by the Session.
The parliament of each of the Baltic States appoints from 12 to 16 parliamentarians to the Baltic Assembly (national delegation, including its chairman and vice chairman), in accordance with the approved rules of procedure and the principle of proportional political representation in the national delegation. The number of delegation members remains unchanged for the entire term of office of the relevant parliament.
The parliament of each of the Baltic States, while forming the national delegation to the Baltic Assembly, is recommended to comply with the principle that at least one member of the relevant standing committees of the national parliaments is included in the committees of the Baltic Assembly.
The Baltic Assembly considers issues and various projects which are of interest to the members of the national delegations and the member states; adopts decisions in compliance with the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and unanimity; and develops cooperation with other regional, international, and inter-parliamentary organisations.
The committees of the Baltic Assembly are appointed for the preparation and consideration of issues which are of interest to the Baltic Assembly.
The standing committees of the Baltic Assembly are the following:
1) Economics, Energy and Innovation Committee;
2) Education, Science and Culture Committee;
3) Natural Resources and Environment Committee;
4) Legal Affairs and Security Committee;
5) Welfare Committee;
6) Budget and Audit Committee.
For dealing with specific issues, the Session of the Baltic Assembly may set up ad hoc committees, defining their composition, scope and term of authority, and the procedure for reporting on their activities.
In order to express similar political interests and views, the members of the national delegations may form, on the basis of an appropriate joint declaration, party groups consisting of at least five members from at least two national delegations. The party groups function in accordance with the Regulations on Activities of the Party Groups of the Baltic Assembly. Other interest groups function in accordance with the regulations on activities of interest groups of the Baltic Assembly, which are an integral part of the Baltic Assembly Statutes.
The official languages of the Baltic Assembly are Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian. Other languages are used in the work of the Baltic Assembly in the cases specified by the Statutes of the Baltic Assembly or by agreement among the delegations.
The cooperation between the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers is based on the 13 June 1994 Agreement on Baltic parliamentary and governmental cooperation between the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia, and the Republic of Lithuania, the 14 April 1996 Protocol on Cooperation between the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers, the Statutes of the Baltic Assembly, and other legal acts. The cooperation between the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers is implemented by the Presidium and standing committees, and it is coordinated by the Secretariats of the Baltic Assembly and of the Baltic Council of Ministers. Each year the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers hold a joint meeting –– the Baltic Council. At the annual joint meeting, the Baltic Council of Ministers presents a report on the cooperation of the Baltic States, joint activities during the past year, and plans for further cooperation.
The Baltic Assembly has signed cooperation agreements with the Nordic Council, the Benelux Parliament, and the GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova) Parliamentary Assembly, and it represents the parliaments of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, its Standing Committee, and working groups.
Renata Godfrey, Secretary of the Lithuanian delegation to the Baltic Assembly, tel. +370 5 239 6224, fax +370 5 239 6339, e-mail: [email protected]
