Parliamentary Dimension

Co-operation among  the parliaments of CEI Member States has always been an important part of the CEI activities. The CEI Parliamentary Dimension, along with the Governmental and the Business Dimensions, is positioned as one of the three pillars of the Organisation. Throughout the years, the institutional establishment of the CEI Parliamentary Dimension has undergone a process of transformation, which was formalised with the adoption of the Working Procedures, later amended and renamed as “Rules of Procedure of the CEI Parliamentary Dimension”.
The Parliamentary Dimension inlcudes the following bodies: the Parliamentary Assembly; the Parliamentary Committee; the Standing Committee; the three General Committees (on Political and Home Affairs; on Economic Affairs; on Cultural Affairs); Sub-Committee on relations with international and regional parliamentary organizations.
The annual chairmanship of the Parliamentary Dimension rotates according to the annual CEI Presidency.

Romanian Presidency 2009
During the Romanian Presidency, an overall subject of concern of parlamentarians was global economic and financial crisis.

The latest Parliamentary Committee meeting that was held in Bucharest in May considered the theme "Contributions to the overcoming of the international economic crisis: the development of the dialogue in the CEI countries / strenthening of the cooperation between national parliaments". On the same day the Standing Committee meeting took place and agreed on starting the procedures for setting up a Sub-committee on relations with international and regional parliamentary organizations, in view to improve the regional profile of the CEI and strengthen the relation of its Parliamentary Dimension with other regional cooperation structures. The composition of this Sub-committee, which included  parliamentarians of Croatia, Italy, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine, was unanimously adopted during the Standing Committee meeting held in Bucharest in October.

The General Committee on Cultural Affairs which met in Salzburg in September dedicated its discussions to the topics of conservation of landscape, preservation of historical buildings and the best way of their use. The meeting of the General Committee on Economic Affairs, held in Zagreb in September, was focused on the role of Parliamentarians in coping with the global financial and economic crisis in CEI region. The General Committee on Political and Home Affairs met in Bucharest in October and debated “The role of ITC in the relationship between parliaments and civil society: the experience in the CEI countries”. 

The Parliamentary Assembly was held in Bucharest on 27-28 October under the topic “Mitigating the impact of the global economic crisis within the CEI region: the role of parliaments”. The Assembly was addressed by representatives of the Chairmanship-in-Office of the SEECP Parliamentary Dimension and the Chairmanship-in-Office of PABSEC. The Parliamentary Assembly adopted its Final Declaration and invited the Heads of Governments and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the CEI Member States to consider this document at their meeting of 12 and 13 November 2009.