Today, the President of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma met with the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Miroslava Němcová, the President of the Senate of the Parliament Milan Štěch and Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas on an official visit in Prague.

In the parliament, diversification of the communication between the parliaments of the two states, as well as cooperation in international parliamentary organisations was discussed. The current issues of concern of the European Union were discussed at length. “Not all of us were responsible and disciplined with regard to the obligations which we had agreed on together. This is a painful lesson for all of us. The future of the European Union will now be determined by how much we are able to learn from our mistakes. It would be fatal for the Community to repeat similar mistakes,” the President of the Riigikogu noted. “The solidarity of the European Union is the cornerstone of our Community which Estonia values very much and also confirms by its behaviour,” Ergma stressed when she shared with her colleagues the information on the discussions on granting state guarantees to the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) that had been held at the Riigikogu.
 
Besides European Union topics, the meeting with the Prime Minister focused on cyber security issues. According to Czech Prime Minister, they take cyber threats very seriously, they value highly Estonia’s experience in this field and they will soon discuss how to promote cooperation with Estonia. Prime Minister Nečas appreciated the close cooperation between Estonia and the Czech Republic in important EU issues and he highlighted the total congruence of views in standing for a strong single market. The conversation also touched upon nuclear energy and Eastern Partnership issues. Ergma expressed her gratitude to the Czech Republic for its contribution to the Baltic air surveillance mission.
 
The President of the Riigikogu also had a meeting with representatives of the Czech parliament’s sub-committee on science and research, with whom the role and assistance of the parliament in developing science and in international cooperation was discussed. The parties expressed a serious interest and willingness to enhance the exchange of information and the cooperation between relevant committees of the parliaments of the two states.
 
Ergma is accompanied on the visit by Members of the Riigikogu, the Chairman of the Estonia–Czech parliamentary group Tõnis Kõiv, the Deputy Chairman of the parliamentary group Ester Tuiksoo and Heljo Pikhof. The delegation will return on Friday.
 
 
The Riigikogu Press Service
3 November 2011
 
 
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