The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, led a parliamentary delegation and attended the conference of the Speakers of the Parliaments of the Council of Europe in Dublin. The main topic of the debates was the role of national legislatures in the reconstruction of Ukraine attacked by the Russian aggressor. The Chairperson emphasized the importance of educational and advocacy activities of elected legislators as well as systematic inter-parliamentary cooperation on specific integration projects.
The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, participated in the European Conference of Speakers of Parliaments. The conference, which is organized every two years by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, was held this time in Dublin, Ireland. The main topic of this year’s plenary debate of leading legislators was the consequences of ongoing Russian aggression and the role of national parliaments in the desired restoration of the attacked Ukraine.
“Putin’s brutal aggression against Ukraine poses a fundamental threat to liberal democracies, basic humanist values and the global security architecture. How can our parliaments face this? Above all, we should contribute to increasing the awareness of our citizens. For that purpose, the Chamber of Deputies has already organized several seminars and public hearings focused on the consequences of war, the documentation of war crimes and the necessity of bringing their perpetrators before an international judicial tribunal,” said the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, in her speech.
“In addition, we signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ukrainian parliament. This supports specific know-how sharing and capacity building projects to help our Ukrainian partners on their way to the European Union. Together, we are also organizing the Parliamentary Summit of the Crimean Platform in Prague next month, where we will continue discussions with legislators from more than fifty countries about, among other things, the crimes committed by Russia in the illegally occupied territories of Ukraine,” added Speaker of the House of Representatives Markéta Pekarová Adamová.
Another point of joint discussion was the very topical issue of hate speech and threats against democratically elected politicians. “According to a number of studies, expressions of hatred towards public figures, not just politicians, are on the rise. I know it very well. I receive threats and face hate speech practically on a daily basis. Many of us have this experience, but what is crucial is how that part of society, which is alien to such manifestations, reacts to it. It is necessary to define ourselves in relation to these manifestations, which fortunately happens and which I value immensely,” said the Speaker of the House of Representatives Markéta Pekarová Adamová.
An integral part of the Dublin conference was also a separate working meeting at the level of senior staff of parliamentary offices. “The main topic of the meeting was the exchange of information in the field of transparency and anti-corruption measures. The participants of the meeting shared their experiences with the application of ethical codes of legislators and employees of parliamentary offices,” added the head of the Office of the Chamber of Deputies, Martin Plíšek.