Most Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom think of the countries on the NATO front line as those in the Baltic states like Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Not as many would be aware of the front line which is not even recognised as an international border – the “administrative boundary line” between Kosovo and […]
On 28-29 June 2022, BGIPU hosted a delegation of five parliamentarians from the German Bundestag, with the objective to enhancing parliamentary relations between the two countries. The delegation was led by Mr Ralph Brinkhaus (CDU/CSU), head of the German delegation to the IPU. He was accompanied by fellow MPs Dr Volker Ullrich (CDU/CSU), Ms Beate […]
Some 300 parliamentarians and parliamentary staff, including 16 Speakers and Deputy Speakers, from over 50 countries convened in Türkiye on 20-21 June for a global parliamentary conference on migration, organized jointly by the IPU and the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye. The conference provided an opportunity for Members of Parliament to take stock of the […]
On 15-17 June 2022, BGIPU hosted a delegation of five parliamentarians from Ukraine. The visit allowed members of the Verkhovna Rada to update UK parliamentarians on the continued war being waged against Ukraine by Russia following its illegal invasion in early 2022. The delegation was led by Ms Lesia Vasylenko, who was accompanied by Ms […]
On Tuesday 24 May, BGIPU held an Ambassador briefing chaired by BGIPU Chair Harriett Baldwin MP, for members of both the House of Commons and Lords. Present at the meeting were the Ambassador of Greece, His Excellency Mr Ionnis E. Raptakis, the Ambassador of Finland, His Excellency Mr Jukka Reino Siukosaari, the Ambassador of Lithuania, […]
On Wednesday 18 May, BGIPU held an Ambassador roundtable chaired by BGIPU Executive Committee member Wayne David MP, for members of both the House of Commons and Lords. Present at the meeting were Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, and Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Poland, Anna Clunes (virtually). They updated the members on the […]
From 9th-12th May, a BGIPU delegation visited Greece looking to further strengthen bilateral relations and gain a better understanding of the Greek political system. The delegation was led by Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, who was joined by Chris Bryant MP, Derek Twigg MP and Angus MacNeil MP. Both the Hellenic Parliament and the British […]
A newly-formed IPU Task Force made up of parliamentarians from around the world met virtually on 25 April to explore possible parliamentary solutions to contribute to an end to Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine. This diplomatic effort at the global parliamentary level aims to complement on-going peace efforts at the governmental and UN level. The […]
On Tuesday 26 April, BGIPU held an Ambassador roundtable chaired by BGIPU Chair Harriett Baldwin MP, to members of both the House of Commons and Lords. Present at the meeting were the Ambassador of Norway, His Excellency Wegger Chr. Strømmen, the Ambassador of Estonia, His Excellency Mr Vilja Lubi, and the German Chargé d ’Affair, […]
When I took on the chairmanship of the APPG for Armenia a couple of years ago I was promised that it was a relatively inactive group, and the workload would be minimal. Within months, neighbouring Azerbaijan had invaded the disputed Armenian territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and military incursions are ongoing; claims and counter-claims about human rights […]
