site.btaUPDATED SEECP Parliamentary Assembly Session Opens in Sofia

Bulgaria's National Assembly Chair and President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Mihaela Dotsova opened the 13th Plenary Session of the organization in Sofia on Tuesday. The organization was marking 30 years since its establishment through the 1996 Sofia Declaration.

The Bulgarian Parliament leader noted that the SEECP remains an important platform for promoting good-neighbourly relations, stability and regional cooperation amid growing international challenges.

The SEECP Parliamentary Assembly has established itself as an important forum for interparliamentary dialogue since its creation in 2014 and has contributed significantly to achieving the Process’s objectives, Dotsova added.

The Assembly has helped build trust, promote dialogue and identify common solutions to regional challenges, she said. Dotsova stressed that good neighbourly relations remain at the heart of SEECP and are essential for stability, prosperity and the European integration of the Western Balkans.

She added that closer coordination between successive SEECP chairmanships would improve continuity and implementation of shared priorities. Dotsova also called for the adoption of the Final Declaration, reaffirming the region’s commitment to political dialogue, good neighbourly relations and the European perspective of South-East Europe.

Dotsova said that good-neighbourly relations are a key condition for the progress of the Western Balkan countries on their path towards membership in the European Union. She noted that the European perspective remains a strategic goal for the region and the strongest incentive for reforms, the strengthening of democratic institutions and the deepening of regional cooperation.

In this process, parliaments bear a special responsibility, she said, adding that the SEECP Parliamentary Assembly should continue to be an active partner in supporting the European integration of the region.