The Parliament leaders of Bulgaria and Albania, Nataliya Kiselova and Elisa Spiropali, met in Tirana on the sidelines of the 12th session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), the Bulgarian Parliament’s press office reported on Monday.
During the talks, Kiselova reaffirmed Bulgaria’s consistent support for Albania’s EU accession efforts. She underscored that Bulgaria has always taken an active position in favor of key decisions regarding Tirana’s European path. She congratulated Albania on the significant progress achieved in its accession process and underscored that this serves as a positive example for other countries in the region and a clear demonstration of the EU's commitment to a merit-based enlargement policy.
Kiselova assured her counterpart that Bulgaria is ready to provide expert assistance in support of Albania’s EU integration.
She also noted that active parliamentary cooperation should play a key role in further deepening bilateral relations across all areas of mutual interest. She expressed readiness to assist in stepping up contacts between the two legislative institutions and pointed out that a friendship group with Albania has already been established in the Bulgarian Parliament.
Kiselova said that Bulgaria is preparing to take over the chairmanship of the SEECP Parliamentary Assembly from Albania. She expressed confidence that this role offers excellent opportunities to reaffirm Bulgaria’s position as a driving force for regional cooperation, focused on promoting economic development, strengthening security, and supporting the prosperity of the entire region.
Spiropali highlighted Bulgaria’s major contribution to placing the integration of the Western Balkans on the EU agenda.
In January, Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev announced that Bulgaria will assume the rotating chairmanship of the SEECP from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.
SEECP is the leading political framework for regional cooperation and the principal regional platform for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans, according to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry’s website.
/NZ/
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