Fjala_e_Ministrit_Bushati_AFET.pdf

Thank you Mr. Chairman,

Dear members of the Committee

Ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me a special pleasure to be with you today. This briefing offers a good opportunity to inform you about the South East European Cooperation Process priorities and activities under Albanian chairmanship and to exchange views on regional cooperation trends in SEE.

Raising the attention of the EU institutions on regional cooperation processes in SEE remains of great importance to all of us.

The European Parliament has always been a very active supporter of our countries’ efforts towards regional and European integration processes. It is encouraging that the common work of SEECP and RCC, its operational arm, is supported by the EU institutions, as it was reaffirmed in the Council Conclusions of 16 December 2014.

Albania has been chairing the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) since June 2014. SEECP is not only the most important political platform in South East Europe; over the years, through the Regional Cooperation Council, it has become one of the principal instruments of regional cooperation.

The motto of our Chairmanship in Office: “Regional Ownership in Action”, tries to capture the essence of SEECP as a home grown, pro-active initiative, aiming at en ever-closer partnership in SEE in the framework of the EU accession process.

The pillars of the Albanian Chair in Office of SEECP are: Regional ownership, regional solidarity and all-inclusiveness.

The main objective is to move forward, working on what brings us closer, overcoming divisions and differences.

Our political priorities are to further strengthen the regional cooperation, enhancing neighborly relations; contributing to the stability and security challenges in the region; to keep alive the process of European integration; to further enhance and support common regional projects, following the Berlin Conference and its process.

I would like to highlight the fact that there have been quite important as well as positive developments in the Western Balkans.  However, sustainable security and peace in the region should not be taken for granted. Our region could be described as a patchwork of frozen processes, as bilateral unresolved issues might still have the potential to jeopardize the future of our citizens and what we have achieved so far, as regards regional cooperation.

– There are frozen disputes

– There are frozen democratization processes as well

In this context, keeping the region on the radar screen is indispensable for maintaining our region on the path of peace and cooperation.

In more practical terms, the certainty of the EU integration process, is the only way to encourage and motivate our societies and our public administrations.

Furthermore, the credibility and success of the Enlargement policy in the Balkans can serve as inspiration to EU oriented reformers in its Eastern and Southern neighborhood.

We are not asking for a discount ticket, but we ask for a credible and predictable process for the WB countries towards EU accession.

In our view, the Berlin process is a chance to reinvigorate the accession process and help it to remain a tool that transforms the region into a vibrant and prosperous democratic space.

We think that regional cooperation has to be more concrete and extended in all areas which provide growth, competitiveness, sustainability and economic consolidation, like:

– The boost of trade and people to people exchanges through the consolidation of the regional economic area and the genuine implementation of free trade agreements.

– The reinforcement of regional infrastructural network, transport and energy, with axes going through the major traffic lines and exchange flows.

– The reinforcement of the security dimension in the region, through the democratization of our societies, the common struggle against organized crime and illicit trafficking, up to the fulfilment of the highest standards on integrated border management.

We are aware that the current threats that our societies and states faces are both internal and external, therefore our efforts to fight them should be comprehensive, well-coordinated, including civil society actors too.

The Albanian C-i-O is committed to making the best of our region’s efforts to narrow the gaps between national agendas and bring forward common goals with the objective to support common regional projects in the areas  identified at the Berlin Conference on the Western Balkans in August 2014.

We are in a process which requires a lot of determination, political will and support. We hope that the support of the European Parliament for the role and activities of SEECP will continue.

The European neighbourhood is changing at an increasingly faster pace, with inevitable consequences on our region. As a result, we believe the European Union should pay closer attention to the future geopolitical importance of the SEECP region. Not only the conflict in Ukraine, but also the barbarian and violent outbursts of the Islamic State pose serious security threats at our borders and on regional terms, as well.

Considering the risk of extremists groups and terrorism as a threat to our region, Europe and the world, just ten days ago, at our SEECP Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting in Tirana, we adopted a Joint Statement on Terrorism.

Through it, we also reaffirmed our commitments to further implement reforms, strengthening the rule of law, implementing policies on youth, education and economic development.

At the end, let me stress that parliamentarians and parliamentary cooperation are also very important and significant components of regional cooperation.

In this respect, let me inform you that the Official Session of the SEECP Parliamentary Assembly will be held in Tirana. The European Parliament is invited to send its representatives at the Meeting, as well as at the Summit of Heads of States/Governments.

Thank you for your attention.