Relations with Parliamentarians

OECD relations and contacts with parliamentarians take place through several channels.

The OECD has longstanding institutional relations with parliamentarians through the Council of Europe and NATO Parliamentary Assemblies.

• Each autumn, the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly debates the work of the OECD.  The Committee for Economic Affairs and Development of the Parliamentary Assembly visits the OECD for briefings each spring in preparation for this report. The last Council of Europe Resolution for the Annual Debate held in October 2005 is now available.
• Members of the Economics and Security Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly make an annual visit to Paris for a meeting with the OECD Secretariat every February.  Parliamentarians from non-NATO OECD countries were invited for the first time in 2001, and since then, there has been attendance of parliamentarians from Korea, Mexico and Slovakia.
• The OECD has recently launched a programme of High-Level Parliamentary Seminars with a view to disseminating its work to parliamentarians as well as to obtain parliamentarians’ views on OECD policy analysis. In October 2003, the OECD held its first High-Level Parliamentary Seminar on the topic of Policy Coherence for Development.  The topic was chosen for the seminar in light of the need for political leadership and agreement among stakeholders with diverse interests in this area.
• Relations with the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly
• Relations with the Economics and Security Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Events with parliamentarians

Other OECD activities with parliamentarians:

• OECD Visits Programme: Over the course of the year, the Visits Programme works in conjunction with Member Country delegations to arrange visits by Parliamentarians.  For example, in February 2003 a group of Swedish parliamentarians from the Standing Committee of Finance visited the OECD.
• OECD Centres: Each of the four OECD Centres (Berlin, Mexico City, Tokyo, Washington) conducts outreach to parliaments in their capitals on an on-going basis.  They regularly forward Policy Briefs, publications, newsletters, news releases and other materials to interested parliamentarians and their staff.  They also suggest and arrange for visits with parliamentarians by OECD Secretariat staff on mission.
• OECD staff missions – The Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretaries-General frequently meet with parliamentarians on the occasion of their missions to both Member and non-member countries.  In addition, each directorate maintains contacts with individual parliamentarians in Member countries.  Research for economic surveys and other country studies often include discussions with parliaments. 
• The Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate’s work on government budgeting includes an annual meeting with OECD Member country budget committee chairpersons.  Outreach activities have also included meetings with the People’s Congress in China.
• OECD Forum.  Parliamentarians are regularly invited to the OECD Forum
• Distribution of public information.  The OECD disseminates information to parliamentarians through the OECD Observer magazine, Annual Report, Ministerial Key Information booklet, and Policy Briefs, among other documentation.  The OECD also communicates with parliamentarians via OLISnet, an Internet system available to member governments which provides subscribers with easy online access to OECD documentation.