CSCE Parliamentary Assembly set up

On 2-3 April 1991, parliamentary leaders from the participating States met in Madrid to discuss the establishment of a CSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

The setting up of such a body had originally been proposed in the Charter of Paris of November 1990, which recognized "the important role parliamentarians can play in the CSCE process."

The Charter called for "greater parliamentary involvement in the CSCE, in particular through the creation of a CSCE Parliamentary Assembly, involving members of parliaments from all participating States."

The meeting in Madrid issued a Final Resolution on the establishment of the Parliamentary Assembly, which set out its basic rules of procedure, working methods, size, mandate and distribution of votes.

The Final Resolution also specified that the Parliamentary Assembly would "hold a plenary annual meeting for a period of not more than five days. This meeting will normally be held during the first week of July in the capital or in another city of a State participating in the CSCE."

Secretariat established in Copenhagen

The first formal session of the Parliamentary Assembly was held in Budapest on 3-5 July 1992. The Assembly decided, inter alia, to accept an invitation by the Danish Parliament to establish an International Secretariat in Copenhagen.

A headquarters agreement was signed between the Parliamentary Assembly and the Danish Government, providing for full international diplomatic status, privileges and immunities on the same level as the United Nations and other similar bodies in Denmark.

Originally consisting of 245 parliamentarians, the Parliamentary Assembly has since expanded to its current size of 317 members from all participating States.