The following is a brief overview of the declarations/conclusions
adopted at several parliamentary events held so far:
- Brussels, 21 September 1998
This was the first inter-parliamentary cooperation
meeting between EP and SEE parliamentarians ever held.
It was organised under the auspices of Dr
Panagiotis Roumeliotis, EU Special Representative for the
Royaumont Process and Mr Tom Spencer, Chairman of the EP-Foreign
Affairs Committee. In its conclusions, the meeting highlighted
the importance of a parliamentary dimension for the Royaumont
Process. It also stressed that an enhanced parliamentary cooperation
through dialogue would contribute to peace and stability in
the SEE region.
- Ohrid, 18 April 1999
The meeting, held under the auspices of the
Royaumont Process, declared the will to strengthen democracy
and the role of parliaments in a democratic system. It also
reaffirmed the commitments to the fundamental principles of
democracy as enshrined in European and universal texts. The
meeting called for the harmonisation of national legislation;
and made commitments to the fight against corruption.
The participants declared their wish to continue
promoting cooperation between (i) the EU and member State
parliaments, (ii) the European Parliament, (iii) the South-eastern
European Parliaments and (iv) the Assemblies of other participants
in the Royaumont Process, with a view to bringing peace and
stability in the region.
The meeting also proposed an Action Plan
for the implementation of the parliamentary dimension of the
Royaumont Process. The Action Plan included the creation of
networks between parliamentarians, training of parliamentarians
and parliamentary staff, and increasing knowledge on the functioning
of EU institutions.
- Sofia, 26 November 1999
The meeting was organised by the Political
Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly,
with participation from parliamentarians of Stability Pact
countries and the European Parliament.
Participants considered that national parliaments
should be involved directly in the implementation of the Stability
Pact through national, bilateral and multilateral parliamentary
debates. It declared that democratic control over the Stability
Pact and its mechanisms required that parliamentarians be
provided with the necessary information on the activities
of the Working Tables.
The meeting declared that the European Parliament,
the Assemblies of the Council of Europe and the OSCE should
be directly linked to the Stability Pact structures in the
fields of their competence, and participate in the activities
of the respective Working Tables. Parliaments have an irreplaceable
role to play in the democratisation of the region via the
existing inter-parliamentary cooperation, mainly by encouraging
political pluralism and the development of civil society.
- Dubrovnik, June 2000
The Conference, organised by the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation,
brought together members of the German Bundestag and parliamentarians
from South Eastern Europe and neighbouring countries. Parliamentarians
emphasised that a parliamentary contribution to the Stability
Pact was absolutely essential. Support for, and monitoring
and democratic control of the reform processes, as well as
of the implementation of the Stability Pact’s objectives was
a responsibility which should lie with parliaments.
National parliaments were also invited to
create a section dealing with Stability Pact issues in the
form of either (i) a parliamentary sub-committee, or (ii)
an ad-hoc committee or, (iii) a task force, or (iv) a special
rapporteur. On a regional level, a network of these sections
should be established in order to connect the respective parliaments
in the form of a regional body.
Lastly, the meeting formulated specific parliamentary
initiatives as a contribution to the success of the Stability
Pact, such as: (i) regular parliamentary debates, hearings
and reports; (ii) regular public information for constituencies;
(iii) promoting and institutionalising inter-parliamentary
cooperation between the European Union and the South Eastern
European region, etc.
- Athens, September 2000
A Conference of Women Parliamentarians from
South Eastern Europe was organised by the International Institute
for Democracy in cooperation with the Greek Political Association
of Women.
The participants considered that the role
of women was paramount in achieving peace and stability in
the societies of South Eastern Europe, and pointed out that
a balanced participation of women and men at all levels of
political life would be the way to tackle the challenges put
to the region and find appropriate solutions. They proposed
that in each of their parliaments a Committee be formed on
Women’s Rights or on Equal Opportunities for women and men.
They also decided that similar conferences
should be held once every year, each time in a different country,
with the aim to exchange views, share experiences and report
progress. At the invitation of the delegation of the Macedonian
National Assembly the next conference will be held in Skopje
in 2001.
- Zagreb, September 2000
The Summit of Speakers of Parliaments of
Stability Pact participants, organised by the Croatian National
Parliament in the framework of the Stability Pact, reaffirmed
the conclusions of the Sofia Conference in November 1999.
Furthermore, it declared that multilateral
meetings among the parliaments concerned should take place
at regular intervals with the aim of exchanging experiences
on the Pact’s implementation and setting priorities for the
region. Specifically, the Summit called for regular parliamentary
debates to be held within the European Parliament and national
parliaments of the EU member States concerning the implementation
of the Stability Pact in order to ensure timely spending and
proper use of financial resources made available for the countries
of South Eastern Europe. At the same time, South-eastern European
parliaments were invited to create parliamentary sub-committees
serving as the appropriate forum for debating Stability Pact
issues.
Finally, it invited parliaments to provide
guidance to their respective executive bodies.
- Zagreb, November 2000
This was the inaugural meeting of another
NGO project within the framework of the Quick Start Package
of Working Table 1. It was organised by the EastWest Institute.
The project’s objective is to create a network of members
of parliaments of Stability Pact participants.
The meeting concluded that parliamentarians
must assume an important role in the Stability Pact in order
to ensure that the democratically elected representatives
of South Eastern Europe give guidance to the process of peace,
reconciliation and economic growth in the region.
This inaugural conference focused on education,
and made specific conclusions regarding the role of MPs in
promoting education. Recommendations included the integration
of education in the EU CARDS programme; the increase of national
budget allocations for education by South-eastern European
countries; a strong emphasis on history teaching in the region;
a feasibility study on the creation of a South-eastern European
Education Cooperation Centre; more resources for mobility
of teachers and students in South Eastern Europe; undertaking
steps to reduce brain-drain; making educational reform an
integral component of the reconciliation process.
Another MP Network Meeting was held in February
2001 in Skopje, focusing on human trafficking, minority rights
including migration and refugee issues, and on the environment.
The future of the Stability Pact was discussed at the MP Network
Meeting in Bucharest on 20 and 21 February 2002.
- Skopje, March 2001
The Second Conference of Presidents of Parliaments
of South-East Europe was organised within the framework of
the Republic of Macedonia's chairmanship of the South-East
European Cooperation Process.
The Declaration of the Conference reaffirmed
its adherence to the Charter on Good-Neighbourly Relations,
Stability, Security and Cooperation in South-East Europe.
It emphasized its orientation towards integration in European
and Euro-Atlantic structures. It reiterated its commitments
to the principles of democracy and human rights.
The Conference went a further step ahead
and adopted a "Procedural Framework for Parliamentary Cooperation"
indicating the specific modalities for translating policy
to practice.
- Brussels, September 2001
The European Parliament organised the Parliamentary
Conference “European Union - Stability Pact” in Brussels,
in cooperation with the Office of the Stability Pact Special
Coordinator and the International Institute for Democracy.
It brought together members of the parliaments of thirty countries
and several international and regional parliamentary assemblies,
as well as representatives of international governmental organisations
and the NGOs involved in the Task Force on Parliamentary Cooperation.
The participants discussed three main themes:
i. The parliamentary contribution to stability in South East
Europe; ii. Economic reconstruction and development: priority
sectors; and iii. The fight against organised crime: combating
trafficking. The conference made a number of proposals, such
as to encourage and further reinforce the institutional capacity
of parliaments, in particular by creating specialised “fora”
to debate issues related to the Stability Pact, the creation
of a parliamentary conflict prevention network, the encouragement
of legislative reform and improvement of law enforcement in
the field of the fight against organised crime and trafficking,
as well as organising regular debates on these topics.
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