NATO Parliamentary Assembly
and
Friday 26 and Tuesday 30 May 2006
Hall Ternes, Palais des Congrès, Paris, France
International Secretariat                                                                                                         June 2006
The Session was opened on Friday 26 May 2006 at 15.10 with Mr Pierre Lellouche (France), President of the Assembly, in the Chair.
1.      Opening of the sitting
The President declared the Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly open.
The President welcomed the participants in Paris and informed them of the order of business.
2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Address by Mr Pierre Lellouche, President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
The President addressed the Assembly.
3.      Address by Mr Borys Tarasyuk, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and special envoy from Mr Victor Yushenko, President of Ukraine, followed by a question and answer period
The President introduced Mr Tarasyuk.
Mr Tarasyuk read to the Assembly a message from Mr Viktor Yuschenko, President of Ukraine.
He addressed the Assembly and answered questions from Mrs Pavlicenco (Moldova), Mr Meckel (Germany), Mr Ozerov (Russian Federation), Mr Semenchenko (Russian Federation), Mr Estrella (Spain) and Mr George (United Kingdom).
The President thanked Mr Tarasyuk.
4.      Address by Mr Alexander Milinkevich, leader of the democratic movement in Belarus, followed by a question and answer period
The President introduced Mr Milinkevich.
Mr Milinkevich addressed the Assembly and answered questions from Mr Agov (Bulgaria), Mr Lamers (Germany), Mme Jukneviciene (Lithuania), Mr Miranda Calha (Portugal), Mr Zhukov (Russian Federation), Mr Bachand (Canada), Mr Berzins (Latvia), Mr Marino (Italy), Mr Yatom (Israel) and Mr Bouvard (France).
The President thanked Mr Milinkevich.
5.      Closure of the First Plenary Sitting
The President invited Mr Shureideh, Acting Head of the Jordanian Delegation to the Assembly, to take the floor.
Mr Shureideh (Jordan) expressed his delegation’s gratitude for being more closely involved in the work of the Assembly.
The President thanked Mr Shureideh, the speakers and the participants.
He declared the First Plenary Sitting closed.
The Sitting closed at 17.45
The second sitting opened on Tuesday 30 May 2006 at 8.35 a.m. with Mr Pierre Lellouche (France), President of the Assembly, in the Chair.
1.      Opening of the Second Plenary Sitting
The President declared the Second Plenary Sitting of the 2006 Spring Session open.
The President announced the order of business.
2. Â Â Â Â Â Address by Mr Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Secretary General of NATO and President of the North Atlantic Council
The President introduced Mr de Hoop Scheffer.
Mr de Hoop Scheffer addressed the Assembly.
Mr Pierre Claude Nolin (Canada), a Vice-President of the Assembly, took the Chair.
Mr Pierre Lellouche (France), President of the Assembly, resumed the Chair.
The President thanked Mr de Hoop Scheffer.
3.      Address by Mrs Michèle Alliot-Marie, Minister of Defence of the French Republic
The President introduced Mrs Alliot-Marie.
Mrs Alliot-Marie addressed the Assembly.
The President thanked Mrs Alliot-Marie.
4. Â Â Â Â Â Joint Meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and North Atlantic Council
The President introduced the Joint Meeting.
Mr Lamers (Germany), Mr Marsal (Spain), Mrs Sliska (Russian Federation), and Mr Kamov (Bulgaria) raised questions on the Transformation of NATO’s Role. At the invitation of the President of the North Atlantic Council, the Permanent Representatives to the NAC, Sir Peter Ricketts (United Kingdom), Mr Benavidez Orgaz (Spain), Mr Reyels (Germany), and Mr Struye de Swielande (Belgium) responded.
Mr Erdem (Turkey), Mr Akhmetov (Kazakhstan) and Mr Lupoi (Romania) raised questions on NATO Enlargement. At the invitation of the President of the North Atlantic Council, the Permanent Representatives to the NAC, Mr Füle (Czech Republic), Mr Nowak (Poland), Mr Eide (Norway), and Mr Ivanov (Bulgaria) responded.
Mrs Cordy (Canada), Mr Hefley (United States), Mr Koenders (Netherlands) and Mr Berzins (Latvia) raised questions on NATO Operations. At the invitation of the President of the North Atlantic Council, the Permanent Representatives to the NAC, Mr Juneau (Canada), Ms Nuland (United States), Mr Schaper (Netherlands), and Mr Gomes (Portugal) responded.
Mr Murauer (Austria), Mr Casaca (European Parliament) and Mr Forlani (Italy) raised questions on Relations between NATO and the European Union.
Mr Vahit Erdem (Turkey), a Vice-President of the Assembly, took the Chair.
At the invitation of the President of the North Atlantic Council, the Permanent Representative of Italy to the NAC, Mr Moreno responded to the questions raised.
Mr Pierre Lellouche (France), President of the Assembly, resumed the Chair.
At the invitation of the President of the North Atlantic Council, the Permanent Representatives to the NAC, Mr Tiido (Estonia), and Mr Pamir (Turkey) also responded to the questions raised. Mr de Hoop Scheffer made a brief comment.
Mr George (United Kingdom) raised a question on Energy Security and Mr Skarphédinsson (Iceland) on the protection of Iceland airspace after the U.S. military withdrawal. At the invitation of the President of the North Atlantic Council, the Permanent Representative of Denmark to the NAC, Mr Poulsen-Hansen, responded to the first question. Mr de Hoop Scheffer responded to the second question.
The President thanked Mr de Hoop Scheffer and the Permanent Representatives to the North Atlantic Council.
5. Â Â Â Â Â Address by General James L. Jones, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), followed by a question and answer period
The President introduced General Jones.
General Jones addressed the Assembly and responded to questions from Mr Kapura (Russian Federation), Mr Bachand (Canada) and Mr Koenders (Netherlands).
Mr Pierre Claude Nolin (Canada), a Vice-President of the Assembly, took the Chair.
General Jones responded to questions from Mr Hefley (United States) and Mr Bayley (United Kingdom).
Mr Pierre Lellouche (France), President of the Assembly, resumed the Chair.
The President thanked General Jones.
6. Â Â Â Â Â Adoption of the draft Declaration approved by the Standing Committee on Georgia's Relationship with NATO [092 SC 06 E Rev. 1]
The President introduced the draft Declaration.
Mr Kox (Netherlands) spoke.
The draft Declaration was adopted by acclamation.
7. Â Â Â Â Â Adoption of the draft Declaration approved by the Standing Committee on Support for NATO Membership for Albania, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia* [093 SC 06 E Rev. 1]
The President introduced the draft Declaration.
Mr Kamov (Bulgaria) spoke.
The draft Declaration was adopted by acclamation.
8. Â Â Â Â Â Address by H. E. Mr Mikheil Saakashvili, President of the Republic of Georgia, followed by a question and answer period
The President introduced Mr Saakashvili.
Mr Saakashvili addressed the Assembly and responded to questions from Mr Lello (Portugal), Mrs Pavlicenco (Moldova), and Mr Zhirinovskiy (Russian Federation).
Mr Pierre Claude Nolin (Canada), a Vice-President of the Assembly, took the Chair.
Mr Saakashvili responded to questions from Mr Shkil (Ukraine), Mrs Kalantzakou (Greece) and Mr Bilgiç (Turkey).
Mr Pierre Lellouche (France), President of the Assembly, resumed the Chair.
The President thanked Mr Saakashvili.
9. Â Â Â Â Â Address by H. E. Mr Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, followed by a question and answer period
The President introduced Mr Aliyev.
Mr Aliyev addressed the Assembly and responded to questions from Mr van Gennip (Netherlands), Mr Shageldyan (Armenia), Mr Akgül (Turkey) and Mr Olekas (Lithuania).
The President thanked Mr Aliyev.
10.    Closure of the Second Plenary Sitting
The President invited Mr Demi (Albania) to speak in response to the Assembly's adoption of the draft Declaration on Support for NATO Membership for Albania, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Mr Demi (Albania) spoke.
The President thanked the participants, the local staff, the interpreters, the International Secretariat, and all those who contributed to the success of the session.
He declared the Second Plenary Sitting closed.
The Sitting closed at 1.12 pm.
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