The Small States of Europe met in Monaco

Presidents of Parliament from the nine Small States of Europe were present at the National Council on Monday, 13 June.

A “convergence of views”. This year, from 12 to 14 June, the Principality was host to the 15th Conference of Small States of Europe, whose Presidents were invited to the National Council on Monday. A conference at which the nine countries (Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro and San Marino) met to discuss common issues, in the presence of Prince Albert II.

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The President of the National Council, Stéphane Valéri, in his opening remarks, underlined the importance of these conferences, created in 2006: “we had realised that we shared many common problems and could learn from each other’s experiences and solutions.”

Among these issues, three topics were discussed this year: the attractiveness of the Small States of Europe, the role of their Parliaments in the COVID-19 crisis and the lessons to be learned for the future, as well as gender equality in the different countries’ political sphere and society as a whole.

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The elected representatives also spoke on the war in Ukraine and agreed to “collectively intensify all their efforts to explore all possibilities at a parliamentary level, with both countries, in order to bring about a peaceful solution following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”

The next conference is to be held in Luxembourg in 2023.