Wednesday, 4 April 2012
MP Workshop on the Use of European Union Databases
Tuesday, 3 April 2012 – MPs from the various political groups participated in the IPA-TAP project’s (Technical Assistance to Parliament) workshop about the use of European Union data bases.
The focus of this workshop was to provide a practical introduction to the everyday use of European Union data bases, especially those which are needed for parliamentary work on EU issues and in the legislative process. Topics included the introduction of the main information sources about the European Union and a general introduction to the Europa internet website, how to find EU legislative and non-legislative documents in these internet sites, and an overview of the national parliamentary EU data bases of EU member states.
Ms. Katalin Szaloki, the Permanent Representative of the Hungarian National Assembly to the EU (based in Brussels), presented the various topics of this workshop to the MPs with Dr. Zoltan Horvath, Project Training Director, as moderator.
This workshop is the fourth presentation for MPs which has been organized by the IPA-TAP project. Future MP seminars, planned for May and June, will include the role of the EU Affairs Committee in various EU member states, the EU accession frameworks, and the experiences of EU accession negotiations by some of the newer EU member states.
The EU-funded IPA project “Technical Assistance to the Parliament” began its work at the Parliament in January 2011 and will continue until July 2012. Among its components are to improve the technical support of the Parliamentary working bodies and to improve the access to and provision of information for MPs and Parliament staff, particularly regarding the EU accession agenda and making information more accessible to the public.