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.
