Colloquium in Athens calls for "globalisation of democracy"

The 5th colloquium of the "Association of former members of parliament of the member states of the Council of Europe or the European Union" which convened on 18 October 2008 in Athens has deliberated on "representative and participatory democracy" and the challenges for democracy in times of globalization. The final declaration adopted by 75 former parliamentarians from 18 European countries stated, among other things, that "a UN Parliamentary Assembly should be set in place." The Association's Honorary President, Prof. Uwe Holtz from Germany, commented: "The colloquium rightfully urged the establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly because democracy needs to be globalized and parliaments need to have a greater say in global affairs, especially at the United Nations." With regard to the review of the global financial system in the wake of the financial crisis, the meeting claimed that "parliaments must have the right to supervise the revisions of world governance in the pipeline."