The Parliament of Romania became a full member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) at the 11th plenary session of the regional interstate organization which took place February 22 to 24 in Porto, Portugal.
According to a Lower House release on Friday, the Romanian lawmaking body has been an associate member of this organization since 2008.
“The full membership confers us the right to participate with a delegation of five MPs, to address and vote in the plenary sessions and the standing committees, as well as being represented in the PAM Bureau,” the release said.
In the speech delivered before the plenary Assembly on this occasion, Social Democrat deputy Florin Iordache who headed the Romanian delegation to the PAM underscored that in its capacity as full member, the Romanian lawmaking body can contribute even more to the organization’s debates.
“We are partners of the Council of Europe and EU and NATO members. Our economy is growing at a fast pace and our citizens enjoy better living standards. We are aware that in order to preserve these important achievements we need strong partners and a prosperous, secure and democratic wider region. In this regard, we support the dialogue of European and Mediterranean basin countries in order to have them listen to each other, learn from each other and help each other. It is our belief that PAM provides an excellent framework in this regard,” Iordache said, as cited in the release.
