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The first meeting of the RA NA Council - presided over by the RA NA Speaker Ara Babloyan - took place on May 26.

The RA NA Council is comprised of the RA NA Speaker, his three Deputy Speakers, one representative from each Faction, Chairs of the Standing Committees. The Council functions according to the NA Rules of Procedure and the work procedure established by its decision.

At the beginning of the meeting the Council considered and endorsed the draft decision on Approving the Work Procedure of the RA NA Council. Afterwards the draft decision of the RA NA Council on Increasing the Number of the Experts in Several Standing Committees of the RA National Assembly was debated.

The RA NA President Ara Babloyan has noted that taking into consideration, as a result of uniting several parliamentary committees, their overload and oversight functions it is suggested that the number of the experts of the Committees should be increased. The NA President urged his colleagues to be led exclusively within the capabilities of the state in this matter.

“I want us not to personalize the problem. Today, the biggest burden is mine, when I have cut 22 Advisers and Assistants to 6 in my staff. It is a very complicated job. If I have to act within the possibilities of my country, then I should serve as an example, and I should request the same from my colleagues.”

Mr Babloyan has underlined that the issue of the increase of experts’ number will be debated in the future, upon necessity.

The members of the Council emphasized the continuous development of the parliament’s expertise capabilities and in this issue the implementation of practical steps. The Committee Chairs presented the substantiations for increasing the number of experts in their Committees: overload, sphere diversity and increase of oversight functions.

Summing up the results of the sitting, the RA NA President Ara Babloyan noted: “The biggest burden is mine. I have inherited a big staff: advisers, assistants, and now I tell them I am not going to work with you. You know what: “We need to tighten the belts.” Let us not put anybody in a bad situation, not label anyone, and let us move on with honesty.”

Summing up all the concerns, the RA NA Speaker Ara Babloyan - taking into consideration the overload of the three united Committees – proposed to provide two additional positions of experts to the Standing Committees on Health Care and Social Affairs, on State and Legal Affairs and Protection of Human Rights and on Economic Affairs and one additional position of expert to the remaining 5 Committees. It was proposed to touch upon the issue of the increase of an expert number in the NA Standing Committee on European Integration in the future.

The RA NA Speaker’s recommendation was accepted by the members of the RA NA Council.

Ara Babloyan has underlined that the RA National Assembly will continue to strengthen the NA capabilities, including the expertise potential and will take practical steps in that direction.

Other organizational issues were also discussed.