CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS OF PARLIAMENTS OF
SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE

SKOPJE, 19-21 MARCH, 2001

Doc. CPPSE-10
20.03.2001

Mr. Stojan Andov, Mr. Namir Dokle, Mr. Zeljko Mirjanic, Mr. Yordan Sokolov, Mr. Mate Granic, Mr. Apostolos Kaklamanis, Mr. Nikolae Vacaroiu, Mr. Vecdi Gonul, Mr. Dragoljub Micunovic and Mr. Srda Bozovic participated at the Conference of Presidents of Parliaments of the participating and observer countries in the South-East European Cooperation Process, held in Skopje on 20 and 21 March, 2001.

Lord Russell Johnston, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mr. Adrian Severin, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Mr. Felice Besostri, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Central European Initiative, Mr. Theodoros Kotsonis, Vice President of the Assembly of the Western European Union, Mr. Tahir Kose, Special Representative of the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and Mr. Bodo Hombach, Coordinator of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe also attended the Conference as guests.

The participants adopted the following

DECLARATION

We, the participants of the Conference,

Reaffirming our common determination to enhance continuously the cooperation among our parliaments, peoples and states, in the interest of peace, welfare and common progress, and on the basis of the Charter on Good-Neighbourly Relations, Stability, Security and Cooperation in South-Eastern Europe,

Emphasizing our resolve to participate actively in the construction of the Europe of the third millennium and reasserting our orientation towards integration in the European and Euro-Atlantic structures,

Reiterating our continuous commitment to the principles of democratic society, pluralism and respect of human rights and to the development of civil society,

Recalling the Conclusions of the previous Conference of Presidents of Parliaments of South-Eastern Europe, held in October 1997 in Athens,

Welcoming the Declaration of Heads of State and Government of South-Eastern Europe and the Action Plan for Regional Economic Cooperation adopted at the Summit held in Skopje, on 23 February 2001,

I

1. Stress that securing peace and stability, while respecting sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of frontiers, is a pre-condition for successful regional cooperation and progress of the countries in the region.

2. Strongly condemn the actions of ethnic Albanian extremist groups in the host country, ethnic exclusion and intolerance, as well as militant extremism, and other actions that threaten to destabilise the region of South Eastern Europe and Europe in general.

3. Underline our support to the efforts of the governments in the region to counter efficiently such actions by all legal means.

4. Stress the important role played by the presence of the international organisations and their Missions in the region, as well as the need for decisive and consistent activities to ensure peace and stability in South-Eastern Europe.

5. Emphasize our support, within the scope of parliamentary competence, for efforts to combat conditions that endanger the internal, regional and wider security and stability; to fight terrorism, organized crime, corruption, illicit trafficking, illegal cross-border immigration and to encourage and promote regional cooperation in these areas.

II

6. Pledge ourselves to do everything within our power to develop the parliaments as centres of the democratic decision-making process, expressing to the greatest possible extent the opinion and the aspirations of our voters.

7. Point out our determination to respect the rules and standards of democratic, fair and free direct elections, and shall regularly exchange views on improvement of the legislation in this area and its implementation.

8. Commit ourselves to ensure constitutional and legal guarantees for human rights, as well as their implementation, including the rights of the persons belonging to minorities in the region, and shall continuously insist on a speedy ratification of the international instruments in the human rights area.

9. Shall make efforts to improve parliamentary procedures and parliamentary efficiency in our countries and shall have regular exchange of opinions and experiences in this field.

III

10. Welcome the processes of accession, and stabilization and association of countries in the region with the European Union and shall strengthen the cooperation among our parliaments regarding the harmonization of legislation with that of the European Community, as well as the supervisory role of parliaments over the governmental activities in the economic, legislative, institutional and other reforms.

11. Reaffirm our support for the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe and our commitment to continuous and close parliamentary follow up of the Pact, at the same time developing inter-parliamentary cooperation, aimed at the implementation of its goals and speedy realisation of the priorities of its beneficiary countries.

IV

12. Shall continuously urge the Governments to develop economic cooperation, on the basis of the priorities outlined in the Action Plan for Regional Economic Cooperation.

13. Shall encourage closer cooperation in the field of science, education and culture, on both governmental and nongovernmental level, especially among young people.

V

14. The procedural framework for the parliamentary cooperation within the Process is outlined in the Annex to the Declaration.

Annex

PROCEDURAL FRAMEWORK FOR PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION

1. The procedural framework of the Parliamentary Cooperation is established with the aim of implementing the joint commitments and defining regular forms of cooperation at the level of parliaments, their working bodies and staff.

2. The parliamentary activities within the framework of the Process will be coordinated by the President of Parliament of the country hosting the Process and on the principle of rotation, in consultation with the Presidents of Parliaments of the previous and the subsequent host country.

3. The Presidents of Parliaments of the SEECP participating countries will, upon an invitation by the President of the Parliament of the host country, hold annual Conferences to promote and develop parliamentary cooperation, assess the cooperation at governmental level, and the overall development of the Process.

4. In the period between two Conferences, and at least once a year, dialogue and exchange of views at parliamentary committees level will be held on certain priority issues specified at the Conference of Presidents of Parliaments.

5. Continuous cooperation and consultations will be established among the national parliamentary delegations to the international parliamentary assemblies of the Council of Europe, OSCE, NATO, WEU, CEI, within IPU and other international parliamentary fora.

6. Parliamentary dialogue between corresponding parliamentary working bodies and parliamentary groups for cooperation will be intensified, on both bilateral and multilateral basis.

7. In order to coordinate and facilitate contacts within the framework of the Process, the President of the host Parliament will, upon taking over his/her role, appoint a Secretariat and its Head, and immediately notify the Presidents of the other Parliaments thereof.

8. Cooperation between parliamentary staff will be coordinated on regular annual meetings of the Secretaries General of the Parliaments or their representatives.

9. With a view to avoid overlapping of activities, regular cooperation with other regional initiatives will be established.