The three Standing Committees of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean are meeting in Belgrade (24-27 June) at the invitation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. Delegates from PAM member national parliaments are discussing and finalising Reports and Resolutions within the framework of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Standing Committees, which deal with "Political and Security related Cooperation", "Economic, Social and Environmental Cooperation" and "Dialogue among Cultures and Civilisations and Human Rights", respectively. inter alia, the Middle East, Organized Crime, Terrorism, Environment and Climate Change, Energy and Related Issues, Water, External Trade, Gender and Equality, Migrations and Dialogue of Cultures and Religions. The root causes of terrorism", over which a debate ensued. "Human Trafficking and Dumping of Toxic waste in the Mediterranean". while Hon. George Vella (Malta), Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee on the Middle East, will present his Report and follow-up of the PAM annual activities dedicated to issues of concern to the region.
Topics on the agenda dealt with during 2010 include,
The Belgrade Committees session was inaugurate by H.E. Prof. Dr. Slavica Djukic Dejanovic, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. In her welcoming speech Dr Dejanovic, underlined the importance that Serbia gives to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and reiterated her country's support to the initiatives of the region's parliament. "The establishment of PAM represents in itself the essence of parliamentary democracy and from such a forward looking vision we can all stand to gain and the intertwining of Parliamentary activity means that cooperation is necessary and useful at a regional and universal level", Dr Dejanovic said.
In her opening speech the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia referred to the achievement of the current legislature reminding that till now around 400 acts have been passed covering different issues of great importance, of which many are similarly dealt with by PAM itself, inter alia, water resources, human rights, gender equality. The Serbian Speaker also welcomed PAM initiatives of migration and refugees which are also issues on the agenda of the Serbian Parliament.
Presiding the Session, Hon. Abdelkadr Fedala, PAM Vice-President from Algeria, introduced the key-note speaker Prof. Dragan Simeunovic, who delivered a reflection about the roots of
terrorism. Hon. Aşkin Asan (Turkey), rapporteur of the Special Task Force on Terrorism, then presented her Report on "
During the morning sessions Hon. Angela Napoli (Italy), rapporteur on Organized Crime, will present her Report on
