In Budapest, the annual conference of parliamentary chairpersons of the European Union (EUSC) took place on May 11 and 12. The chairpersons of the parliaments of the EU come together at this conference to exchange information and best practices and to promote parliamentary cooperation. The meeting is organized by the country that held the EU presidency in the previous autumn, this time Hungary. Senate Chairman Jan Anthonie Bruijn and House of Representatives Chairman Martin Bosma participated in the conference.
Future of the European Union
The agenda of the conference included working sessions on the future of the European Union and on regionalism and cultural identity. In his intervention at the session on the challenges for the future of Europe, Chairman Bruijn spoke about the unity in diversity that the EU stands for and the close cooperation of EU member states to keep the European Union strong in the future. He mentioned external factors that threaten the future of Europe, including Russias invasion of Ukraine. But also internal developments, particularly the erosion of trust among citizens and in the government, threaten democracy, the rule of law, and European values. Bruijn concluded by stating that dialogues are currently being initiated in the Netherlands to strengthen commonly held values and the rule of law.
Meeting with the LGBTIQ+ Community in Hungary
In addition to the working sessions, the conference is primarily used for bilateral discussions. The Chairman of the Senate spoke with colleagues from other parliaments and had a meeting with Chairperson Roberta Metsola of the European Parliament and Chairperson Ruslan Stefanchuk of the Ukrainian parliament. Bruijn also took the initiative for a conversation with representatives of the LGBTIQ+ community in Hungary about the challenges this community faces. He discussed the implications of recently amended Hungarian legislation with various organizations advocating for the rights of individuals in the LGBTIQ+ community.