Photo: Europeanwesternbalkans. President of the European Parliament David Sassoli with the Speakers of Western Balkans Parliaments and the President of the Croatian Parliament
On January 28, 2020, speakers of the parliaments of the Western Balkans gathered for a summit in Brussels at the invitation of European Parliament President David Sassoli. Speakers who attended were Denis Zvizdic (House of Representatives) and Dragan Covic (House of Peoples) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Glauk Konjufca from Kosovo, Gramoz Ruci from Albania, Maja Gojkovic from Serbia, Ivan Brajovic from Montenegro, and Talat Xhaferi from North Macedonia. The President of Croatian Parliament, Gordan Jandrokovic, also joined, representing the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The main discussion points of the summit were stronger ties between the EU and Western Balkan nations, and economic development for the entire region. As the EU is working hard on the enlargement of the Union, this summit was important in terms of reemphasizing the parliaments’ key roles in carrying out EU reforms agenda.
“Today’s summit reaffirmed our strong conviction that the Western Balkans and the European Union share a common destiny. We firmly believe that enlargement will benefit the people of the region and EU member states and that it can bring about much-needed reconciliation in the neighborhood. Now, we need to make sure that this political will translates into action,” said Sassoli.
After the summit, a Joint Declaration of European Parliament-Western Balkans Speakers’ Summit was signed. The declaration mostly highlighted the effort necessary for the EU’s enlargement agenda. It also emphasized the role of parliaments to strengthen parliamentary democracy and the parliamentary dimension of the enlargement process.
[Sources]
EU Reporter Correspondent. (2020, January 28). #Sassoli - 'Let's give new political momentum to the enlargement process.’ Retrieved from https://www.eureporter.co/frontpage/2020/01/28/sassoli-lets-give-new-political-momentum-to-the-enlargement-process/
Europarl. (2020, January 28). Joint Declaration European Parliament - Western Balkans Speakers' Summit: The President. Retrieved from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/the-president/en/newsroom/joint-declaration-european-parliament---western-balkans-speakers-summit
Ewb. (2020, January 24). European Parliament to host Summit with Western Balkans speakers next week. Retrieved from https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2020/01/24/european-parliament-to-host-summit-with-western-balkans-speakers-next-week/
Ewb. (2020, January 29). EP President Sassoli and Speakers of WB parliaments sign a joint declaration. Retrieved from https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2020/01/29/ep-president-sassoli-and-speakers-of-wb-parliaments-sign-a-joint-declaration/
EU Reporter Correspondent. (2020, January 28). #Sassoli - 'Let's give new political momentum to the enlargement process.’ Retrieved from https://www.eureporter.co/frontpage/2020/01/28/sassoli-lets-give-new-political-momentum-to-the-enlargement-process/
BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr)
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