In the year of celebration of the 40th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Poland and Spain, Members of the Polish Parliament and Members of the Congress of the Kingdom of Spain are pleased to note the stable and comprehensive development of Polish-Spanish co-operation. They are in favour of further strengthening political, economic, social, cultural and scientific ties between Poland and Spain - reads the first line of the declaration on cooperation between Poland and Spain, signed by the heads of parliaments during the Parliamentary Forum in Krakow.
The session was divided into three panels: 1) bilateral cooperation, 2) European issues, 3) global issues.
- I would like to emphasize that in bilateral relations we care about strengthening the strategic partnership between Poland and Spain. This form of cooperation indicates a strong convergence of interests of our two countries - said Marek Kuchciński, Speaker of the Sejm, who opened the debate.
MEPs and deputies stressed the need to strengthen the role of national parliaments in the EU decision-making process, the importance of bilateral parliamentary cooperation in Polish-Spanish relations and in international organizations.
An important agenda item was Spanish language learning and collaboration at the education level.
The need for negotiations between Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom was also raised during the meeting, stressing that the welfare and legal security of our citizens must be at the heart of this process.
The commitment of Poland and Spain to prepare for the implementation of the new climate regime introduced by the Paris Agreement was confirmed - the importance of Poland as the host of the COP24 climate summit in 2018 is very important in this process.
Parliamentarians have expressed concern about the possibility of allowing posting rules for international road transport.
Parliaments have been assigned a special role in the European Union's involvement in the European Neighborhood Policy, shaping common policies on terrorism, humanitarian crises, human rights abuses, radicalization, migration flows, and border management in the South.
Supported the regional forums of the Eastern Partnership and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, expressed concern about the continuing level of tension in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the violation of the principle of territorial integrity of Ukraine and basic norms of international law.
Strong transatlantic ties, according to the attendees, are essential to maintaining the credibility of the North Atlantic Alliance. They advocate the continuation of sustained U.S. political and military engagement in Europe.
Traditionally, the parliamentary forum precedes the intergovernmental consultations, which are scheduled for June 30. Both the Speaker of the Diet and the President of the Congress of Deputies, Anna Pastor Julián, stressed the important role of parliaments in preparing the ground for government negotiations.
