Strasbourg – A conference of speakers and presidents of the parliaments of the Member States of the Council of Europe started in Strasbourg on Thursday afternoon. The Deputy Speaker of the Croatian Parliament Mr Josip Leko is attending as well.
At the plenary session of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament, Deputy Speaker Leko gave a speech on the crisis of parliamentary democracy. He highlighted the crisis of trust in politics and politicians was a worldwide problem and that the transitional difficulties in Croatia had additionally worsened the situation. It is now up to parliaments, he said, to carry out analyses and suggest possible modes for solving the problem. Some of the possible solutions he mentioned are: modification or abolishment of party lists, introducing the principle of determining the number of MPs based on electoral support and constitutional reforms.
While at the Conference, Mr Josip Leko met with the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons of the British Parliament Mr Nigel Evans, who informed him that the British Parliament would ratify the Treaty of Accession between Croatia and the European Union by Christmas, i. e. earlier than it had been announced. The Deputy Speaker of the Croatian Parliament also talked with the Polish delegation to the Conference, who assured him the process of ratification of Croatia’s EU Accession Treaty in Poland would be completed in October. Mr Leko held meetings with the President of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mr Božo Ljubić and the former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and current Vice President of the European Parliament Mr Miguel Angel Martinez.
The Conference continues on Friday when Mr Leko is expected to meet the President of the German Bundestag Mr Norbert Lammert.