Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean

Last updated
Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean
AbbreviationPAM
Formation2005
TypeInternational organization
HeadquartersNaples, Italy
Location
  • Mediterranean region
Membership
31 member parliaments
President
H.E. Sen. Enaam Mayara
Website
www.pam.int

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) is an international organization established in 2005 by the national parliaments of the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean region. It is the legal successor of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in the Mediterranean (CSCM), launched in the early 1990s.

Contents

The PAM was originally headquartered in Malta, in recognition of Malta's strategic role and commitment in organizing the PAM. [1] [2] The current headquarters is located in Naples, Italy. PAM also has offices in the Republic of San Marino.

PAM also has Permanent Observers to the UN in Geneva, New York and Vienna, a Liaison Officer with UNSCO and UNIFIL in Jerusalem, and a Permanent Representation to LAS in Cairo.

Objectives

The main objective of PAM is to forge political, economic and social cooperation among the Member States in order to find common solutions to the challenges facing the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf region, and to create a space for peace and prosperity for its peoples.

PAM is the centre of excellence for regional parliamentary diplomacy, and a unique forum whose membership is open exclusively to Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf countries, which are represented on equal footing. This is reflected in the composition of the Bureau and the alternating Presidency. The current President of PAM is Enaam Mayara. [3] Each national delegation has up to five members with equal voting rights and decision-making powers.

PAM conducts the bulk of its work within three Standing Committees. It convenes annually in a Plenary Session. It may also set up Working Groups, ad-hoc Committees or Special Task Forces to tackle a particular topic (i.e. Counter-Terrorism, Confidence Building, Peace Support, Conflict Resolution, Middle East Peace Process, Mass Migration, Free Trade and Investments, Economic Integration, Climate Change, Energy, Human Rights, Dialogue of Civilizations, Gender issues, etc…). The main operational and coordination instruments of PAM in these fields are Field Missions, Electoral Observation Teams, the Economic Panel on Trade and Investments, the Academic Platform and the Women Parliamentary Forum.

Although the reports and resolutions adopted by PAM are not legally binding per se, they are a powerful “soft diplomacy” tool when dealing with parliaments, governments and civil society in the region.

Secretariat

The international Secretariat, an autonomous and independent body of the Assembly, assists and advises the PAM President, the PAM Bureau and all members in the execution of their mandate and is responsible for the follow-up on the decisions taken by the Assembly providing coordination, assistance and support to the work of the Committees and all other bodies established under PAM.

The Secretariat interacts with national delegations, as well as with regional and international bodies sharing an interest in the PAM region. It has the mandate to stimulate the activities of the Assembly. It also coordinates the awarding of the PAM Prize dedicated to individuals or institutions whose work is considered of great value for the PAM region.

The Secretary General, assisted by international and local staff, coordinates the activities of the Assembly

The PAM Secretariat is also entrusted with the parliamentary dimension of the 5+5 Western Mediterranean Forum and the MEDCOP.

Relations with non-Mediterranean countries and international institutions

The membership criteria and geographical location of its members position PAM as a central actor in the Mediterranean region.

The General Assembly of the United Nations granted observer status to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, by the Resolution A/RES/64/124, at its 64th Session on 16 December 2009.

An essential link with civil society, parliamentarians are key to any political decision-making process. In order to ensure coherence and coordination in decision processes, including social peace, it is necessary that parliamentarians fully participate in today’s regional debates thereby contributing to the elaboration of policies that bear both an immediate impact and a long-term impact for future generations. Today’s challenges, including mass migration, climate change and most importantly the resurgence of conflicts and the evolution of terrorism, require a collective effort, goodwill and confidence-building measures.

The political dialogue established among members of PAM, in particular with respect to the Middle East issues, Syria and Libya crises, and the Russian aggression against Ukraine, are of crucial importance.

To further its objectives, PAM encourages the inter-governmental support of the main actors in the region as well as regional institutions.

Membership

.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Member parliaments Associates and partners Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean.png
  Member parliaments
  Associates and partners

As of 2022, there are 31 member parliaments, 2 associate member states, 1 candidate member, 60 guest/partner states and organizations, and 13 observer organizations. [4]

Member states

Associate member states

Candidate member

Guest/partner states and organizations

Observers

Cooperation with other organizations

In addition to the above, PAM also cooperates (to various degrees) with other international organizations, including the:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation</span> International organization

The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is a regional international organization focusing on multilateral political and economic initiatives aimed at fostering cooperation, peace, stability and prosperity in the Black Sea region. It traces its origin to 25 June 1992, when Turkish President Turgut Özal and leaders of ten other countries gathered in Istanbul and signed the Summit Declaration and the "Bosphorus Statement". BSEC Headquarters – the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation – was established in March 1994, also in Istanbul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou</span> Greek politician

Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou is a Greek politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2014, and served as First Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009. She was Regional Governor of the Ionian Islands from 2019 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iratxe García</span> Spanish politician (born 1974)

Iratxe García Pérez is a Spanish politician of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). She has served as Member of the European Parliament since 2004, and has served as the Leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats parliamentary group since 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie-Arlette Carlotti</span> French politician (born 1952)

Marie-Arlette Carlotti is a French politician of the Socialist Party (PS) who has been serving as a member of the French Senate since 2020, representing Bouches-du-Rhône. She previously was a Member of the European Parliament from south-east of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian Economic Community</span> Regional economic organisation

The Eurasian Economic Community was a regional organisation between 2000 and 2014 which aimed for the economic integration of its member states. The organisation originated from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on 29 March 1996, with the treaty on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community signed on 10 October 2000 in Kazakhstan's capital Astana by Presidents Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan. Uzbekistan joined the community on 7 October 2005, but later withdrew on 16 October 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bendt Bendtsen</span> Danish politician

Bendt Bendtsen is a Danish politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2009 until 2019. He was the leader of the Conservative People's Party from 1999 to 2008, and served as Minister of Economic and Business Affairs. As a MEP, he was part of the European People's Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pasqualina Napoletano</span> Italian politician

Pasqualina Napoletano is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Central region with the Democrats of the Left, a Vice-Chairwoman of the Socialist Group, and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bogusław Sonik</span> Polish politician and Member of the European Parliament (born 1953)

Bogusław Andrzej Sonik is a Polish politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Lesser Poland Voivodeship and Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship with the Civic Platform, part of the European People's Party and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NATO Parliamentary Assembly</span> Consultative interparliamentary organisation

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly serves as the consultative interparliamentary organisation for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It consists of delegates from the parliaments of the 32 NATO member countries as well as from associate and partner countries. Its current President is Gerry Connolly from the United States, elected as Acting President in 2024 after former president Michał Szczerba was elected to European Parliament. Its current Secretary General is Ruxandra Popa, who has been in this position since January 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southeast European Cooperative Initiative</span>

The Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) is a multilateral regional initiative that has been initiated by the European Union, the United States of America and the countries of Southeast Europe within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as a support to the implementation of the Dayton Accords in December 1996 at the inaugural session at Geneva on the basis of Final Points of Common EU-USA Understanding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Armenia</span> Country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Armenia:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union for the Mediterranean</span> Intergovernmental organization

The Union for the Mediterranean is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: the 27 EU member states and 16 Mediterranean partner countries from North Africa, Western Asia and Southern Europe. It was founded on 13 July 2008 at the Paris Summit for the Mediterranean, with an aim of reinforcing the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (Euromed) that was set up in 1995 as the Barcelona Process. Its general secretariat is located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euronest Parliamentary Assembly</span> European diplomatic organisation

The EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly is the inter-parliamentary forum in which members of the European Parliament and the national parliaments of Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia participate and forge closer political and economic ties with the European Union. It was established in 2011 by the European Commission as a component of the Eastern Partnership. After the elections in Belarus in 2010 were declared as flawed by the OSCE, the membership of Belarus in Euronest was automatically suspended. Belarus is welcome to re-join the Assembly once political requirements have been fulfilled. In 2015, Azerbaijan's membership was suspended due to the European Union's criticism of human rights abuses by the government. In September 2016, it was announced that Azerbaijan would take the necessary steps towards restoring ties. As of 2017, the combined population of Euronest members stands at 61,927,521 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Parliamentary Assembly</span>

The Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) aims to promote peace in general, and in the Asian region in particular. It was established as the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace (AAPP) in September 1999 by Sheikh Hasina, acquiring its current name in 2006 during the Seventh Session of the AAPP. The APA consisted, as of 2007, of 41 Member Parliaments and 17 observers. Each Member Parliament has a specific number of seats in the Assembly based on the size of their population. The number of total seats, and therefore, number of votes, is currently 206. Members of Assembly must be elected by members of the Member Parliaments. The APA Charter and Tehran Declaration lay out a framework of cooperation among Asian countries, and point out to a vision; that is Asian Integration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syria–European Union relations</span> Bilateral relations

The European Union (EU) and the Syrian Arab Republic have signed two agreements between each other. However, due to the Syrian government's crack down on its opposition, the EU imposed an embargo on Syria. Since 2011, the EU has supported the opposition Syrian National Council and calls for the present government to stand down. Since 2012 it has recognised the opposition as legitimate representatives of the Syrian people. Should Turkey's accession to the EU take place, Syria will border the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy</span> Organization

The Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, or I.A.O., is a transnational, inter-parliamentary institution that in 1994 was originally established as the European Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (EIAO).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIS Interparliamentary Assembly</span> Consultative parliamentary body

The Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States is a parliamentary assembly for delegations from the national parliaments of the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) established in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrej Šircelj</span> Slovenian politician (born 1959)

Andrej Šircelj is a Slovenian politician who has been serving as Minister of Finance in the government of Prime Minister Janez Janša since 2020.

References

  1. ↑ "Malta and Gozo".
  2. ↑ "PALAZZO SPINOLA - PAM HQ INAUGURATION". Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. pam.int. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean". www.pam.int. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  4. ↑ "List by National Delegation, Associate Members and Observers". Assemblée Parlementaire de la Méditerranée. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "PAM and Arab Parliament Presidents sign MoU in Cairo". Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  6. ↑ "PAM and the Council of Europe's Member Parliaments to strengthen further cooperation". Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  7. ↑ "PAM and EBRD MoU formalizes collaboration between the two institutions". Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  8. ↑ "PAM-EIB MoU signed in Monaco - "New form of integration in the Mediterranean required" - EIB Vice-President". Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  9. ↑ "HISTORY OF THE IAO". Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  10. ↑ "Foreign Terrorist Fighters: A challenging phenomenon for the Euro-Mediterranean and CIS regions". Assemblée Parlementaire de la Méditerranée. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.