'
IPEX
the InterParliamentary EU information eXchange, is a platform for the exchange of information between EU national parliaments as well as the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

concerning issues related to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, especially in light of the provisions of the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...

. The Treaty of Lisbon explicitly sets out the role of the national parliaments in th
Protocol on the role of national Parliaments in the European Union
and in th
Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality

History and Role

IPEX came about as the result of a recommendation made by the Conference of the Speakers of the European Union Parliaments in Rome in 2000. In accordance with th
Guidelines for interparliamentary cooperation
, agreed in The Hague in 2004, the official launch of the website took place in June 2006 during the EU Speakers Conference in Copenhagen. The website was later redesigned, launching its new format in 2011. IPEX aims to support: the Speakers Conference; the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union ( COSAC); meetings of the specialized committees of the national Parliaments and of the European Parliament; interparliamentary meetings; and the liaison offices of the national parliaments in Brussels. IPEX is thus one of the major pillars of interparliamentary communication on European affairs, drawing together information from each of the national parliaments across the EU. IPEX is intended to enable the national parliaments of EU Member States to cooperate more closely and coordinate their approaches to European affairs, whilst also seeking to make interparliamentary cooperation on EU matters accessible to European citizens. In this context, IPEX offers multilingual navigation and publishes fundamental texts and opinions of the national parliaments in English, French and other EU languages. IPEX receives contributions from all national Parliaments of the Member States of the European Union, the national parliaments of the candidate countries and from the European Parliament. In order to promote interparliamentary cooperation, IPEX is open to COSAC and th
European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation (ECPRD)

Organisation of IPEX

According to th
IPEX Guidelines
the IPEX Board is responsible for decisions concerning the development of IPEX. The Board is appointed on a yearly basis by the Secretaries General of the national Parliaments and the European Parliament on behalf of their Speakers. IPEX is managed by the Central Support, the permanent IPEX information officer and a network of national IPEX Correspondents.

Features of IPEX

IPEX features a database of national parliamentary scrutiny information, forums, and a news section. It is publicly accessible. The website aims to provide the following: * Overview of the state of affairs in the debate within the national parliaments and the

with regard to proposals for European legislation coming from the European institutions, especially from the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

* Exchange of information on legislative proposals between the national parliaments and the European Parliament, with special regard to the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality * Exchange of information about consultation documents coming from the European Commission as a part of the “Informal Political Dialogue” (formerly known as the “Barroso Initiative”) * Calendar of interparliamentary cooperation
Links to national Parliaments and to the European Parliament
as well as to other websites of interparliamentary cooperation in the framework of the EU, offering, for example, information about institutional procedures in EU affairs IPEX also hosts th
EU Speakers Conference
website.

External links

*{{official website, http://www.ipex.eu/ipex
Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union
COSAC - official homepage

retrieved 21 May 2012 * ttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/webnp/cms/lang/en European Parliament: Relations with National Parliaments retrieved 21 May 2012
The European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation
ECPRD - official homepage

References

Politics of the European Union European political websites Internet properties established in 2006