Tallinn
La diplomatie parlementaire – Trait d’union entre les pays
Intervention de M. Alain Berset, membre du Bureau du Conseil des Etats à l’occasion de la
Conférence européenne des présidents de Parlement
Tallinn, Estonie, 30-31 mai 2006
In addressing parliamentary representatives from all over Europe, there is no need to explain the reasons for the growing importance of policies that go beyond national boundaries. Three factors have led to co-operation and necessitated integration at the international level.
Firstly, the preservation and development of security and peace, along with the protection of human rights, took on a new dimension with the fall of Communism fifteen years ago.
Secondly, new threats have emerged to the security and very existence of humanity: the population explosion; food, water and energy problems; migration and refugee flows; ecological requirements, particularly in respect of the climate; the various forms of organised crime and, alas, terrorism.
Lastly, the globalisation of markets and technological progress have highlighted the need to set rules in order to ensure sustainable, ecologically acceptable development based on a social market economy and free trade in goods and services between all states.
To turn to the theme under discussion this morning, it must be remembered that the history of democracy unfolded around the nation state. Responsibility for traditional foreign policy lies primarily with the executive. Democracy has always been, and will continue to be, expressed largely within the arena of domestic policy. That said, the wider the scope of foreign policy becomes, the more inseparable it will be from domestic policy, for soon there will be no purely national spheres. It is consequently becoming a matter of urgency for parliaments to exert greater influence over governments’ foreign policy activities.
The more restricted the latitude of national states, and thus of parliaments, the more often decisions will be taken by means of international treaties or within supra-national organisations. Governments’ responsibilities must therefore be confined to policy formulation at the international level. Parliaments, which are the representatives of the people, must not simply rubber-stamp government decisions. Otherwise, the gulf between politicians and the people will widen; politics will no longer be either understood or endorsed by public opinion. The French and Dutch referendums on Europe provided the most spectacular illustration of such a risk.
With increased co-operation and integration, what is at stake is the very concept of democracy within states. It is up to us, as parliamentary representatives, to redefine our role as a bridge between public and government, including in the foreign policy arena. Accordingly, the 1999 Swiss Constitution provides for the involvement of parliament in formulating foreign policy. The Parliament Act also states that the government must consult parliamentary committees about the main thrust of mandates for international negotiations and any associated directives.
Participation in parliamentary organisations is a significant aspect of parliamentary diplomacy. Do people realise that the first contact between the British and the Argentinians after the Falklands War took place within the Inter-Parliamentary Union? Do they remember the meeting between North and South Korean parliamentary representatives within the framework of this same organisation, which also set up a meeting of Israeli and Palestinian parliamentary representatives? Parliamentary representatives’ freedom of speech has been a valuable asset in these situations.
I have one concern, however: despite the rapid expansion of parliamentary diplomacy, it is still misunderstood by the public. In times past, a major newspaper devoted an entire page to a visit to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany by a Swiss parliamentary delegation. These days such an event would be entitled to half a dozen lines at most. Although crucial to understanding between peoples, such visits are now routine, which is unfortunate.
I fully endorse the conclusions of President Herman de CROO’s excellent contribution, and would like to thank Estonia for its hospitality.
Seul le discours prononcé fait foi
Tallinn, le 30 mai 2006
Source: former berset.ch website, archive.org copy of 22.10.2007