Under the chairmanship of the new president, Senator Traian Constantin Igaş (Romania), the constitutive meeting of the European board of directors of the Global Parliamentarians on Habitat was held on 3 and 4 March 2009 in Brussels, Belgium.

Parliamentary elections had recently been held in Romania, and two members of the board of directors, Ioan Ţundrea and Petru Lificiu, unfortunately were not re-elected. According to the Rules of Procedure of the GPH, they will remain voting members until the next election of the European board of directors. Aurelio Juri (Slovenia), Member of the European Parliament and member of the board of directors of GPH Europe, announced his decision not to run for re-election in the next elections to the European Parliament in June 2009.

The members of the European board of directors reported on the activities of the GPH in their home countries.

Ms. Anneke Assen (the Netherlands) presented the final report of November 2008 on the implementation of the goals and principles of the Habitat Agenda in national legislation.

An assessment was made of the results of the World Urban Forum IV, which took place in Nanjing, China, from 3 to 6 November 2008. Preparations were also made for the meeting of the Global Parliamentarians on Habitat on 1 April 2009 within the framework of the 22nd Governing Council of UN-HABITAT as well as for the next European forum and the Sixth Global Forum of the GPH.