The Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) is held in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, under the chairmanship of the First Vice-President of the Parliament and Member of Parliament for Lasithi with ruling New Democracy party Yiannis Plakiotakis, on June 13–14, 2024.
During the two-day work of the Conference, the vice-president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, the former Minister of Migration and Asylum, Notis Mitarakis, and Helene Le Gal, executive director of the European External Action Service, responsible for the Middle East and North Africa will be present.
Agenda
Among other things, the conclusions of the recent electoral contests for the nomination of members of the European Parliament, the EU enlargement policy, migration, the crisis in the Middle East and the situation in the wider Mediterranean area will be discussed.
“Countries that do not respect the European rules and values, like Albania, have no place in the European family”
On the sidelines of the start of the work, Plakiotakis said: “In this difficult and constantly worsening situation, the role of Europe can and should be pivotal. The answer to the intense challenges of the next period must be one: more and better Europe. Europe with a common Foreign and Defense policy, with a strong presence on the international scene. Mainly, with social cohesion and improving the standard of living of its citizens. We all have to keep the hope of the society and guard the Democracy, to face populism and extremism. In the wider region, from the Middle East to Ukraine, there are countries focusing on destabilization, all looking towards Europe.
But those countries that do not respect European rules and values, like today’s Albania of Edi Rama who still holds in prison the elected mayor of Himare and now the elected MEP of ND Fredi Beleri, have no place in the European family.”
