President of Parliament Talat Xhaferi today participated in the Meeting of Western Balkans Parliament Speakers, which is hosted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia within the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council in Brdo pri Kranj.
The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, Igor Zorcic, Dr. Anže Logar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and Monika Gregoric, President of the Committee for Foreign Policy of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, marked the formal opening of the meeting with their introductory speeches, which was followed by addresses by the Western Balkans Parliament Speakers, including Xhaferi.
President Pahor, as the parliamentary press service stated, expressed regret that the integration is not going according to the desired pace, which is not only an issue for the development of the Western Balkan countries, but also for the peace and security. He concluded that bilateral issues should be resolved with an approach that will have symbolism of mutual reconciliation, and not of separation.
President Zorcic stressed the role of parliaments in restoring trust in the process of EU enlargement and called for accelerating the integration process and strengthening its credibility and predictability on the part of Europe.
Minister Logar outlined the power of transformation that European integration has in countries aspiring to promote the rule of law, fight against organized crime and corruption and socio-economic reforms and said that the open issues in the region should be resolved in the spirit of trust and according to international law and European legislation.
He concluded that migration, cyber-attacks and green and digital transformation of the economy are also priorities for the aspiring countries and should be at the core of the integration process.
Gregoric, on the other hand, pointed out that the interest of the Union is a stable region that has potential and at the same should be recognized and maintained in the following presidencies of the EU Council. It will further strengthen the perspectives of the Western Balkans and at the same time will eliminate destabilizing influences of third parties and will help in a quicker resolution of the open issues in the region.
In the joint statement adopted at the meeting, the participants welcomed the commitment of the European Parliament that provides political support to the enlargement process and stressed the need of strategic priority for the enlargement by the European Union. On their part, the importance of the parliamentary diplomacy in deepening the political dialogue for speeding up the enlargement process was stressed as well as the commitment of the Western Balkan Parliaments for strengthening regional cooperation that contributes to promoting trust and promoting the reconciliation process in the region.
In the statement, the need for special attention to the young generations and opening new opportunities for their involvement in EU programs was stressed, as well as creating jobs and taking steps for motivating the youth to live and work in the region. In this context, the importance and need for including parliaments, civil society and other relevant actors in the Conference for the future of Europe was recognized.
The joint statement, was added by the parliamentary press service, will be sent to the European Parliament, European Commission, to the participants of the upcoming EU – Western Balkans Summit, as well as to the Conference of Speakers of the EU Parliaments countries (CSEU).
Translation: N. Cvetkovska
