Iraq, global terrorism dominate assembly of NATO parliamentarians

The Iraq crisis and its impact on the North Atlantic Alliance, together with the threat of international terrorism, were set to dominate a spring session of NATO's parliamentary assembly opening here Monday.

NATO Secretary General George Robertson was scheduled to address the gathering of members of the alliance's parliaments.

The plenary session was preceded Sunday by committee sessions.

Robertson was also set to meet Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla, Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda and Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik.

The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999.

NATO was seriously split by a crisis over Iraq sparked by three anti-war member-states -- France, Germany and Belgium -- over whether the Alliance should boost NATO member Turkey's defences in preparation for the war.

The NATO parliamentary assembly links more than 200 lawmakers from the alliance's 19 members together with associated states including Russia, meeting in full session twice yearly.

Meanwhile, presidents of the national parliaments of European Union member states said Sunday that the new European constitutional convention being drawn up ought to strengthen, not diminish, their role.

After a weekend meeting in Athens, representatives of parliaments of the 15 existing member states and the 10 newly-admitted countries argued in a statement "that the participation of national parliaments should not be marginalised."

They said they gave their full support to the work of the convention, headed by former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing.