European Parliament supports political reforms in Kazakhstan

BRUSSELS, October 11-12, 2021 - Members of the Parliament of Kazakhstan took part in the 18th Meeting of the Parliamentary Cooperation Committee “Republic of Kazakhstan - European Union”.

The Kazakh deputies became the first foreign delegation to visit the European Parliament after lifting quarantine restrictions in Brussels.

Aigul Kuspan, Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs, Defence and Security of the Majilis of Kazakhstan’s Parliament, and Fulvio Martusciello, Head of the European Parliament Delegation for Interaction with Central Asia and Mongolia led the Kazakhstani and European Parliamentary delegations, respectively.

In his welcoming speech, MEP Fulvio Martusciello underlined the importance of resumption of the parliamentary dialogue between the European Union and Kazakhstan after the pandemic. “The dynamics of political contacts and the high level of economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and the EU testify to the important role that Nur-Sultan and Brussels give to the partnership”, he said.

"Kazakhstan was the first country in Central Asia to sign the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) with the EU, and the EU sees Kazakhstan as its most important partner in Central Asia," the Italian MEP added.

He noted the diversity of the Kazakhstani delegation representing both chambers, various committees, and political parties. The fact that four of six delegates are women speaks to the serious attention of the political leadership of Kazakhstan to gender equality in the country. 

During the meeting, the members of the European Parliament welcomed Kazakhstan’s efforts to promote democratic reforms and to combat the negative impact of the COVID pandemic on the nation’s economy as well as on the welfare and health of its citizens.

European parliamentarians singled out a whole range of prospective directions for future cooperation between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the European Union, including regional security, "green" and digital transitions, trade, and transport projects, etc.

Several deputies of the European Parliament praised the Kazakhstani political reforms aimed at modernizing the political system, abolishing the death penalty, improving the electoral legislation, achieving carbon neutrality, and improving the investment climate.

The head of the Kazakhstan delegation informed the European parliamentarians about the current political initiatives of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev presented in his Address to the people of Kazakhstan: "The unity of the people and systematic reforms are a solid foundation for the prosperity of the country”.

"This year Kazakhstan celebrates the 30th Anniversary of its Independence. Thanks to the unity of our people, comprehensive reforms under the leadership of First President Nursultan Nazarbayev, we have come a long way. Today the Head of State Tokayev sets new tasks for the Parliament to ensure political reforms conforming to the spirit of time and development of the Kazakhstani society", - Kuspan said.

Responding to the questions of his European colleagues, Deputy Linnik informed on the main anti-crisis measures of the Government and shared the information on the new promising areas of trade, economic, and investment cooperation between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the European Union. He called on European parliamentarians to support the realization of the economic potential of the EPCA.

Deputy of Majilis, Aidos Sarym spoke in detail about the activities of the National Council of Public Trust and legislative initiatives proposed by the members of the Council. He outlined his vision of cooperation between Kazakhstan and the EU in the field of education and health.

Senator Saule Aitpaeva told the deputies of the European Parliament about the policy approaches of Kazakhstan in the field of digital security and multilateral cooperation of Kazakhstan aimed at data protection.

Interaction of Kazakhstan on human rights issues with the United Nations Organization, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Council of Europe were raised by Deputy Snezhana Imasheva.

MP Skakova’s information on the "green" agenda of Kazakhstan, including the concept of carbon neutrality-2060 and the efforts of the country to eliminate the consequences of the Aral Sea ecological disaster, attracted genuine interest among delegates.

Later on, the delegation met with the leader of the EU-Kazakhstan Friendship Group in the European Parliament, MEP Ryzcard Czarnecki to discuss the prospects of exchanges between the parliamentary delegations of Kazakhstan and the EU.

On the bilateral track, Kuspan met with her Belgian counterpart – E. Van Hof, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Belgian House of Representatives, and the head of the "Belgium - Kazakhstan" Inter-Parliamentary group.

Belgian parliamentarians welcomed the positive dynamics of inter-parliamentary dialogue. Earlier, Chairman of the Majilis of Kazakhstan, Nurlan Nigmatulin held a VTC with the Speaker of the Belgian Parliament, Eliane Tillieux, and met with both Belgian speakers in Vienna.  

In conclusion, Chairman Kuspan reiterated Kazakhstan's invitation to Belgian Speaker Eliane Tillieux and Belgian MPs to pay an official visit to Kazakhstan.

The Majilis Speaker then met with the EU Special Representative for Central Asia Terhi Hakala to discuss the outcomes of the Civil Forum "Central Asia - EU" held in Almaty on October 6, 2021. EUSR Hakala commended the results of bilateral meetings in Nur-Sultan, as well as the quality of interaction between participants of the forum. According to the European diplomat, the visit to Kazakhstan allowed her to be acquainted with the implementation of political reforms and to learn better about the work of civil society activists in the country.

To conclude the visit, MP Kuspan met with representatives of the Kazakh diaspora and students studying at Belgian universities. She congratulated the guests on the Anniversary of Independence and stressed the role of ordinary citizens in the development of cultural-humanitarian relations between Kazakhstan and Belgium.