Muntianas disagrees with Estonian MPs

  • 2006-05-31
  • From wire reports
VILNIUS - Parliamentary Speaker Viktoras Muntianas, recently in Tallinn for the Council of Europe conference, said he disagrees with Estonia's suggestion to radically reform the activity of the Baltic Assembly. Muntianas said he urged Estonia's parliamentarians to improve the Baltic Assembly's efficiency, keeping up its "revs" at the same time.

"We spoke a lot about improving the efficiency of the Baltic Assembly's activity and its cooperation with the Nordic Council. We decided that the Baltic Assembly should hold a meeting on this subject in June to discuss specific proposals on improving its performance," Muntianas told the Baltic News Service.
After meeting with Estonian Parliamentary Speaker Toomas Varek, Muntianas said his proposals for improving the Baltic Assembly were "ferocious."
"The Estonian parliamentary speaker suggested radically reforming the Baltic Assembly, reducing the number of its committees and the amount of MPs involved in it. On May 30, their tone let up a bit, the Estonian parliamentary speaker admitted that the Baltic Assembly should survive, however its activity must be made more efficient and specific," Muntianas said.

In 2005, Estonia's former Parliamentary Speaker Ene Ergma first suggested reforming the Baltic Assembly, which unites members of parliament from the three Baltic countries, while in Vilnius. To save funds, she proposed shutting down the assembly's Riga-based secretariat and dismissing the joint BS. In Ergma's opinion, the assembly's future activity could be financed by the presiding country, which changes every year on the principle of rotation.
Established in 1991, the Baltic Assembly entered into political cooperation with the Nordic Council in 1992, and has been holding joint meetings to discuss the topicalities of the Baltic region since 1996.