Council of Europe
I am a member of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary
Assembly. The Council of Europe is quite distinct from the
European Union. Although all 15 EU countries are members,
there are 43 member states in total. Among other things,
it tries to seek solutions to problems facing European society
such as environmental issues, drugs and organised crime.
It does not cover defence (which is the role of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Western European Union). The Parliamentary
Assembly is made of up of members appointed by national
parliaments including 36 from the UK's House of Commons
and House of Lords. Mike is leader of the Liberal Democrat
group and member of three committees - Social, Health and
Family Affairs; Culture, Science and Education and Migration,
Refugees and Demography committees.
Click here to read Mike's speeches to the Council of Europe Parliament Assembly
Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union
I am Vice-President of the Liberal Group on the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Western European Union and member of its
political committee. The Assembly has a similar role to
the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly but this
time covering defence and security issues. The WEU is again
quite distinct from the European Union. It was formed in
July 1955 after the two world wars devastated Europe so
that national parliamentarians could debate security and
defence issues. The WEU now has 28 member countries.
Nato Parliamentary Assembly
I am a member of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation)
Parliamentary Assembly and of its Defence, Technology and
Science Committee. The Nato Parliamentary Assembly is an
interparliamentary organisation, which acts as a forum for
legislators and parliamentarians from Alliance to discuss
issues of common concern. It is completely independent of
NATO but forms a link between national parliaments and the
Alliance. It has Plenary Sessions twice a year but much
of its work is done through six committees which examine
specific issues.
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