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NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly Spring Session in Riga

By Insider . 04.03.2010

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The Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly will be held in the capital of Latvia, Riga, from 28 May to 1 June 2010.

 More than 700 participants from NATO member states, associate member states and observer countries are invited to attend the Spring Session of the NATO PA. During the Session, parliamentarians will be addressed by numerous distinguished experts and public officials, including Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary General of NATO, informs Saeima Press Service.

During the NATO PA Spring Session in Riga, it is planned to address a wide variety of topics. Parliamentarians from the NATO member states, together with experts, will discuss the unity of the Alliance, the role of NATO with regard to maritime safety and cooperation between NATO and the EU on this issue.

During the Session in Riga, it is planned to address the relations between NATO and Russia and to pay particular attention to issues related to nuclear safety and energy. It is also planned that the Committee on Economics and Security of the NATO PA will hold a discussion on the impact of the economic crisis on the defence budgets of the NATO member states, as well as on the prospects of Central and Eastern European countries to overcome the crisis.

Vaira Paegle, head of the Latvian delegation to the NATO PA, confirmed Latvia’s readiness to organise the upcoming Spring Session of the NATO PA in 2010 in Riga. „Latvia will be happy and proud to host parliamentarians from the NATO member states and to show the best it has,” emphasised the head of the Latvian delegation.

In commenting on society’s attitude towards membership in the Alliance, V. Paegle stated: „NATO is a security and independence guarantor for Latvia. Many Latvian inhabitants are Eurosceptics; however, the majority of society supports membership in NATO, which is a significant component of the international security system.”

NATO PA Sessions take place twice a year – in spring and autumn. Sessions are important events in this international organisation, and all NATO member states take turns in organising them.

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is a consultative inter-parliamentary organisation founded in 1955 which unites parliamentarians from 28 member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Delegates from NATO associate member states, representatives of the European Parliament, as well as parliamentary observers from several non-NATO countries also participate in the Assembly.