COPENHAGEN --- The Danish minister of defense, the chief of the United Nations police force in Kosovo, and the director of NATO's International Military Staff are among the leading figures who will address an estimated 100 Members of Parliament and experts this week during a three-day NATO Parliamentary Assembly seminar. The delegates from European legislatures and other security policy organizations will gather in Copenhagen to explore NATO enlargement, relations with Russia, and other key issues in the security of Northern Europe today. The seminar, hosted by the Danish Folketinget, will run from Thursday morning, October 12, through Saturday evening, October 14. It will take place in the Landstingsaal of the Folketinget, or Danish Parliament.

The meeting, the 48th in the Assembly¹s Rose-Roth Seminar series, will focus on Members of Parliament who are under 40 years of age and in their first term of office. This Young Parliamentarians Initiative is designed to ensure that the next generation of legislators is familiar with the Alliance and its role in European security issues.

"This is a remarkable opportunity for the Assembly and the parliaments of the NATO member and partner countries," said Simon Lunn, Secretary General of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. "We have been working with Members from partner countries for almost a decade through the Rose-Roth seminars, but the Young Parliamentarians Initiative allows us to reach the people who will be making policy for decades to come. It is important that they understand the role that NATO has to play in the future of European security. This is a natural role for the Assembly because one of our core missions is to keep Members informed about Alliance issues so that they can exercise effective legislative oversight."

The substantive focus of the seminar on Northern Security Issues was the initiative of Ingrid Rasmussen, a Member of the Danish Parliament and the head of the Danish delegation to the Assembly. While NATO's attention has necessarily been focused on events in Southeastern Europe, it is important to address security issues on the Alliance's northern flank, such as relations with Russia and the future NATO membership of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Among the stellar group of speakers will be: Lt. Gen. Ole Kandborg, Director of NATO's International Military Staff, at 12.00 Thursday; Sven Frederiksen, Head of the UN police in Kosovo, at 15.00 Thursday; Defense Minister Hans Haekkerup, at 16.00 Thursday; Brig. Gen. Michael Clemmensen, Commandant of the Baltic Defense College, speaking on enlargement, at 10.50 Friday. Michael Matthiessen, Head of the European Council¹s Situation Center, Robert Bell, NATO¹s Assistant Secretary General for Defence Support, and Amb. Niels Engelund, Denmark¹s Permanent Representative to NATO will address EU-NATO relations in security and defence during a morning-long panel discussion on Saturday.

Background: The NATO Parliamentary Assembly, founded in 1955 with a Brussels-based secretariat, brings together 214 national parliamentarians from the 19 NATO countries. The 17 Associate delegations from Central and Eastern Europe, Ukraine, and Russia, take part in nearly all Assembly activities and meetings.

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