Paris, 17 January 2001.- The President of the WEU Assembly/interim European Security and Defence Assembly, Klaus BÜHLER, exchanged views on issues of European Security and Defence Policy with Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER during an official visit to the Grand Duchy on 15 January. The talks focused on the question of the parliamentary dimension of ESDP against the background of the decisions taken at the European Council in Nice.
 
Assembly President BÜHLER underlined the importance of maintaining a Europe-wide parliamentary platform for national parliamentarians concerning matters of European security and defence. The mandate for the next Intergovernmental Conference scheduled for 2004 also includes the task of shaping the parliamentary dimension. 
 
The talks with Prime Minister JUNCKER, the President of the Luxembourg Parliament, Jean SPAUTZ and a number of Luxembourg parliamentarians, provided a highly useful opportunity to prepare the way ahead for the parliamentary dimension of ESDP. There was general agreement that national parliaments and the European Parliament have to work together in close cooperation based on the experience of the WEU Assembly/interim ESDA, which plays a unique role in the European architecture, bringing together 28 European countries.