InterParliamentary EU information eXchange

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InterParliamentary EU information eXchange (IPEX) is a platform for the exchange of information among the national parliaments of the Member States and the candidate countries of the European Union, as well as between the national parliaments and the European Parliament on EU issues, especially in the light of the provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon .

The rights and responsibilities of national parliaments in EU matters are set out in Protocol No. 1 on the role of national parliaments in the European Union and in Protocol No. 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.

Origin and tasks

IPEX was created on the basis of a recommendation by the Conference of Presidents of National Parliaments in the European Union (EU-PPK) in September 2000. In accordance with the guidelines for interparliamentary cooperation adopted in 2004 (and revised in 2008), the website was officially launched in June 2006 during the EU PPK in Copenhagen .

The aim of IPEX is to provide the national parliaments and the European Parliament - in particular their specialist committees - with quick and up-to-date support by publishing resolutions and information on EU matters. The publications in IPEX are also used for preparation and mutual exchange within the framework of the Conference of Presidents of Parliaments and the Conference of the European Committees of the Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) as well as within the framework of the joint meetings of the specialist committees of the national parliaments and the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assemblies and others inter-parliamentary conferences. The liaison offices of the national parliaments in Brussels are also involved in the exchange.

In this way, IPEX helps the parliaments in the European Union to work more closely together and better coordinate their approach in European affairs, while at the same time making interparliamentary relations transparent for the citizens of Europe. IPEX offers multilingual navigation through the website and publishes basic texts and statements of the national parliaments in English, French and German as well as other languages ​​of the European Union.

Boards and Membership

In accordance with the IPEX guidelines, the IPEX board takes decisions on the development of IPEX in accordance with the specifications of the presidents of parliament. It is appointed annually by the secretaries-general of the national parliaments and the European Parliament on behalf of their respective presidents. The IPEX Board is currently composed of representatives of the national parliaments of Slovakia, Luxembourg, Estonia, both parliamentary chambers of Italy, Malta, both parliamentary chambers of Romania, both parliamentary chambers of Belgium, Denmark, both parliamentary chambers of Poland, both parliamentary chambers of France, Portugal, Austria, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden, the German Bundestag and the European Parliament together.

Members of IPEX are all national parliaments of EU member states , the national parliaments of the candidate countries and the European Parliament. In all national parliaments there are IPEX correspondents who form a network and, among other things, have the task of publishing statements and resolutions of their parliaments as well as other contributions on EU matters on the IPEX website. This provides an overview of the activities of the national parliaments in the context of European legislation and in the debate on European affairs.

Information offer and accessibility

The IPEX website, which is designed as an internet public portal, offers

  • an overview of the status of the treatment of proposals for European legal acts, the authors of which are the European Commission and other European institutions, in the national parliaments and the European Parliament;
  • an exchange of information between national parliaments and the European Parliament on legislative proposals by the European Union, with particular attention to the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;
  • an exchange of information on consultation documents of the European Commission (green and white papers and communications) in the context of its political dialogue with the national parliaments;
  • a calendar of inter-parliamentary cooperation;
  • Links to national parliaments and the European Parliament as well as other websites for interparliamentary cooperation within the European Union, which contain information on national and international institutional procedures in EU matters.

A database and a news section are available in IPEX for the exchange of information . The website of the EU Parliament Presidents' Conference can also be found in IPEX. IPEX is linked to all major European databases.

Web links