In September 2018, a new format of cooperation was established among the Parliamentary Administrations of the Eastern Partnership countries. The initiative has created an unprecedented Eastern Partnership inter-parliamentary to foster regional cooperation among partner countries and form the network of Secretaries General and a professional community of parliamentary practitioners.

 

The inaugural meeting of the new cooperation format was held on 24-25 September 2018, in Tbilisi, attended by the Secretaries General of all Eastern Partnership countries, including the Secretaries General of both chambers – the Council of the Republic and the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Republic of Belarus. In the framework of the meeting, the TBILISI Memorandum was signed by five Eastern Partnership countries to seal the good will and commitment to enhance regional cooperation on a multilateral level.

 

The Network of Secretaries General of Parliament of the Eastern Partnership Countries is the cornerstone of the TBILISI Memorandum format and represents a core decision-making platform for conducting regional cooperation. The Network consists of Secretaries General of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, the Parliament of Georgia, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Nevertheless, the representatives of the parliamentary administration of the Milli Mejlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan complimentarily participate in all capacity enhancement and experience-sharing activities implemented under the TBILISI Memorandum cooperation. The Secretaries General meet regularly, in the format of the Working and Annual Meetings to discuss future prospects of cooperation and adopt consensus-based decisions.

 

On 6-7 December 2018, in the framework of the 2nd Working Meeting of Secretaries General of Parliamentary Administrations of the Eastern Partnership Countries, held in Yerevan (Armenia), Georgia was elected as a Chairing Country of the Network of Secretaries General of Parliament of the Eastern Partnership Countries for a one-year term, concluding on 1 October 2019. 

 

On 7 December 2018, the YEREVAN Annex to the TBILISI Memorandum was signed by the member Secretaries General of the Network, establishing the Eastern Partnership Parliaments’ Research Network (EPPRN) within the existing cooperation format.

 

The Annual Meeting of Secretaries General of Parliamentary Administrations of the Eastern Partnership Countries, held on 27 September 2019, in Yerevan (Armenia), concluded the Georgian Chairmanship of the Network of Secretaries General of Parliament of the Eastern Partnership Countries. Following Mr Givi Mikanadze, Secretary General of the Parliament of Georgia, Mr Tigran Galstyan, Secretary General of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, was elected to Chair the Network for the period of 1 October 2019 – 1 October 2020. 

 

From the very beginning, the regional cooperation established under the TBILISI Memorandum is actively supported by the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.