Conclusions of the Presidency

On 17-18 September, Parliamentarians from 30 countries invited by the European Parliament and the Stability Pact joined together to debate major topics related to Parliamentary Contribution to Stability in South East Europe, its Economic Reconstruction and Development and the Fight against Organized Crime.
This Parliamentary Conference brought together parliamentary delegations from 30 countries involved with the Stabilisation and the Association Process or concerned with the Accession Process to the European Union, as well as delegations from the European Union Parliaments, and from the Parliamentary Assemblies of the CoE, OSCE, NATO, WEU, CEI and Black Sea Economic Cooperation.
The Parliamentary Conference held one minute of silence in respect for the victims of the terrorist attack perpetrated on 11 September in the USA and expressed its deep sorrow standing united with US Congress and all Americans in solidarity
During the debate the Conference underlined and supported the following major proposals related to parliamentary contribution to Regional Stability, Economic Reconstruction and Development priority sectors and the Fight against Organised Crime :

I. As regards Parliamentary Contribution to Regional Stability

• Encouragement to all National Parliaments and all Parliamentary Assemblies to further reinforce parliaments’ institutional capacity, in particular by creating specialised "fora" for the Stability Pact related issues. Creation of ad hoc Stability Pact political structures, for example Working Groups or Specialised Committees in the National Parliaments and Parliamentary Assemblies;
  
• Implementation of a networking practice among the National Parliaments, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of Europe, focused on evaluating, on a regular basis, the implementation of the Stability Pact;
  
• Creation of a Parliamentary conflict prevention network, including information-sharing activity, as an instrument for preventing and dealing at parliamentary level, with all signs of destabilisation in the Region;
  
• Encouragement to the National Parliament of the Former Yugoslav Republic of FYROM to discuss, in a constructive spirit, the proposals made by the Framework Agreement and to vote them.

II. As regards the Regional Conference of October 2001 and the reinforcement of Economic Activity

• Need for further commitment in political and economic reforms in the Region; the importance of strengthening Regional cooperation, as a precondition for the adoption of the Stabilisation and Association Agreements, and as an indispensable instrument for integration into the European Union;
  
• the EU, bilateral donor countries, international organisations and financial institutions should continue their overall commitment in terms of financial assistance into the countries of the Region and give a clear signal of support to the on-going Stabilisation and Association Process, as well as to the countries which are concerned;
  
• Parliamentary Cooperation should be clearly identified as one of the priority sectors agreed by the Stability Pact Regional Table last June, bringing therefore this activity to the priorities of the Stability Pact in the area of economic activity and development;
  
• Support to the ongoing initiatives regarding trade liberalisation and facilitation (network of Free Trade Agreements and their compatibility, by the end of 2002, with the Memorandum of Understanding for Trade Liberalisation (MoU), recently adopted);
  
• Support by WTO members to assist and facilitate the early accession to the WTO of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and FYR of Macedonia;
  
• Support of the ongoing reforms identified during the Regional Table of June 2001, with a view to promoting the private sector, to improving the climate for foreign investment, and to strengthening Regional and international cooperation;
  
• Creation of a coherent Regional network for key infrastructure sectors, including transport, energy and water and request the responsible institutions (European Commission, EIB, EBRD) to finalise, as soon as possible, the ongoing Regional studies on transport, energy and water;
  
• Clear definition and promotion of Regional priority projects in the sector of infrastructure and environment.

III. As regards the Fight against Organised Crime : Combating trafficking

• Need for a stronger emphasis by governments of the Region on the combat against trafficking in human beings and on its recognition as a Human Rights issue;
  
• Development of national strategies to combat trafficking by establishing national action plans and proper legal frameworks, and, whenever necessary, transnational plans in the framework of a systematic Regional cooperation approach;
  
• Legislative reform and improvement of law enforcement on the basis of the following principles :
  
  • legislative measures to be adopted should include the establishment of trafficking as a criminal offence;
    
  • the scope of legislation to be adopted should be sufficient to reach all forms of trafficking and attempted trafficking and all actors involved in the trafficking chain;
    
  • anti-corruption measures to complement anti-trafficking measures should be enacted and enforced;
    
• deeper cooperation among the countries of South East Europe, with the EU, and with international organisations and NGOs, in order to enhance anti-trafficking efforts, including investigation and prosecution on a Region-wide basis;
  
• Enhanced awareness-raising training, cooperation and coordination among border officials, police, judges and prosecutors, as well as consular personnel whose nationals are involved in trafficking cases;
  
• Organisation, on a regular basis, of parliamentary debates on the fight against organised crime and trafficking in human beings, in order to maintain this problem on the national political agendas, review activities, give political guidance and assure the follow-up of the Action Plan established under the Stability Pact (SP Initiative to Fight Organised Crime - SPOC) and to evaluate the implementation of the Palermo Anti-Trafficking Declaration;
  
• Reinforcement of the European Union's role in assisting (in technical and financial terms), and also under the Stability Pact Anti-Trafficking Action Plan, the countries of South East Europe in addressing trafficking in human beings; this reinforcement should be done by a better use of the existing EU instruments available, including the CARDS programme, in favour of effective prevention programmes, victim assistance and protection actions, and prosecution of traffickers.