The 46th meeting of PABSEC, hosted by the Romanian Senate

The Romanian Senate is hosting in Bucharest the 46th meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation organisation (PABSEC) starting Wednesday and throughout Friday, at the end of the Romanian chairmanship of PABSEC.The main theme of the event is parliamentary involvement in the implementation of sustainable development objectives in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation area, and it is unfolded under the aegis of the Romanian Senate, the holder of the PABSEC chairmanship June-November 2015. Attending the 46th meeting of the PABSEC are members of the standing delegations of the 12 BSEC member states as well as representatives of international parliamentary organisations, national parliaments and NGOs that are PABSEC special guests or observers. The Romanian Senate reports on its webpage that the General Assembly meeting will be followed by themed sessions where the PABSEC members will examine and approve reports and recommendations drawn up by PABSEC committees: creation of the legal framework for combating corruption — the role of parliaments (Legal and Political Affairs Committee); E-government in the BSEC member states (Economic, Commercial, Technological and Environmental Affairs Committee); Combating the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage in the BSEC region (Cultural, Educational and Social Affairs Committee). The Parliament of Romania is a founding member of PABSEC and it held the chairmanship of the Assembly: December 1997-June 1998; June-December 2003; November 2008-June 2009. "The priorities of the current Romanian chairmanship of PABSEC are mainly aimed at: the functioning in optimal conditions of the Assembly and the diversification of its activities; the consolidation of PABSEC's profile at regional, European and international levels, with particular focus on intensification of the dialogue with the European Parliament — as a means to support the a better use of the opportunities provided by EU policies, initiatives and instruments for the Black Sea region; the collaboration with other parliamentary assemblies from the region; the strengthening of the relationship between the PABSEC and the BSEC, in the context of the simultaneous chairmanships of the PABSEC and the BSEC held by Romania during the second semester of 2015," the Senate reports. PABSEC was established in 1993, and it is currently composed of 76 parliamentarians representing 12 states from the Black Sea region: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. "The assembly, through its role as inter-parliamentary body of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organisation (BSEC), concentrates the efforts of national parliaments for achieving its objectives: developing the legislative framework for enhancing the economic, commercial, social, cultural and political cooperation among Member States; promoting the cooperation with other international and regional organizations; providing assistance to national parliaments for the consolidation of parliamentary democracy," the Senate reports.