The 51st British Isles and Mediterranean Regional Conference (BIMR) of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), in which the House of Representatives is represented by the MPs Nikos Sykas and Christos Orphanidis, began today in the Isle of Man.
The proceedings of the Conference, with the general theme of assessing ways of exercising parliamentary scrutiny, were welcomed by the Speaker of the Lower House of the Isle of Keys, Mr Juan Watterson.
This was followed by presentations from the participating Parliaments, with an emphasis on the challenges, weaknesses and opportunities for more effective exercise of parliamentary scrutiny. As far as Cyprus is concerned, MPs referred to the direct control exercised by Parliament over the Executive, through the submission of questions to the relevant ministers and by registering issues either in the plenary of the House or in the relevant parliamentary committees through the ex-officio procedure. In addition, they referred to the indirect exercise of parliamentary control through the right of the Parliament to amend or even vote against the bills submitted by the Executive, especially the State budget.
In the exchange of views that followed, Mr. Sikas referred in particular to the use of the media and social networks as important tools in the process of exercising parliamentary control as they contribute to improving transparency, direct visibility of the work of the Parliament and communication with citizens. At the same time, however, the Cypriot MP stressed that it is extremely important to put in place safeguards to prevent the spread of false news and misinformation. Particularly in relation to the need to ensure transparency, Sycas further noted the adoption of the Code of Conduct for Members of the House of Representatives, which was passed in February 2021.
In the afternoon, Cypriot MPs attended the Annual Meeting of the British Isles and Mediterranean Region. In the afternoon, An. Ian Liddell - Grainger, Chairman of the International Executive Committee of the Association, informed the Plenary Session of the Region about the planning of the Association's Strategy for 2022-25, as well as the developments on the issue of the change of the Association's legal entity. In addition, issues related to the activities of the Association's International Executive Committee and the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) were discussed.
(IK)
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