The President of the Senate, Sen. Pietro Grasso, and the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Ms Laura Boldrini, will open the Interparliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) on Thursday, 6 November at 10.30 a.m. in the Senate Plenary Hall.

Participants will include the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paolo Gentiloni; the Minister of Defence, Roberta Pinotti; parliamentary delegations from EU member states, the European Parliament, EU candidate countries and European NATO member countries. This is the fifth meeting taking place in Rome, and the third held at the Senate, in the framework of the parliamentary dimension of the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The Conference on the CFSP/CSDP is responsible for parliamentary control in the area of the Common Foreign, Security and Defence Policies.

The proceedings will consist of four sessions taking place on Thursday and Friday, and will be preceded by a meeting of the Parliaments of the South of the EU and candidate countries on the topic "Neighbourhood policy as a factor for stabilization: the Libya case", to be held on Wednesday 5 November starting at 17.00. The meeting will be chaired by the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Pier Ferdinando Casini. The Chairman of the Senate Defence Committee, Nicola Latorre, will deliver an address.

On Thursday morning, after the welcome speeches by the Presidents of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, addresses will be delivered by the Chairpersons of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Senate (Pier Ferdinando Casini), of the Chamber of Deputies (Fabrizio Cicchitto), and of the European Parliament (Elmar Brok). Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti will speak at 11.30 on the topic "Defence as a pillar of European integration".

The 1st Session, entitled "The Mediterranean and the crises at the borders of the European Union. Regional and global challenges: from the Middle East to Ukraine", will start right afterwards and will feature an address by Foreign Affairs Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

The 2nd Session, focusing on "The Libya crisis", will start at 15.00. Addresses will be given by the Chairman of the Senate Defence Committee, Nicola Latorre, and the Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, Bernardino León.

The 3rd Session, starting at 16.30, will focus on "The European Union as a global player: priorities and strategies within the CFSP and the CSDP". The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, will deliver a speech.

On the morning of Friday 7 November, participants will split into three break-out sessions on "Parliamentary perspectives on the future of the EU Battlegroups", "Strengthening EU-Africa relations", and "Regional stability and enlargement to the Western Balkans".

The 4th Session, starting at 11.00, will focus on "Prospects of the European Defence", with special reference to the strengthening of the cooperative approach with strategic partners. Addresses will be delivered by the Chairman of the Defence Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, Elio Vito, and Defence Under-Secretary Domenico Rossi.

The Closing Session, starting at 12.30, will feature presentations by the rapporteurs on break-out sessions, the adoption of the Rules and the Conference Conclusions.

Proceedings will be broadcast live on the Senate satellite channel and web TV as well as on the Senate YouTube channel. A detailed programme and additional information are available on ue2014.parlamento.it

Note for media organisations

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