Brussels, 10/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Economic and Social Committee (ESC) and the "Royaumont Process" for stability and good neighbourliness in South Eastern Europe are organising, in cooperation with the Economic and Social Council of Greece (OKE), a conference on the theme "Civil Society, Democratisation, Participation and the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe". The conference, to be chaired by Mrs Beatrice Rangoni-Machiavelli (ESC President), will be held on 21 January in Thessaloniki (Greece) with the participation of European Commissioner for Social Affairs and Employment Anna Diamantopoulou. It will be followed, on Saturday 22 January, in the same place, by a "Royaumont meeting" of labour ministers, attended again by Mrs Diamantopoulou.
The aim of the Committee conference is to give rise to a discussion between the representatives of the various socio-economic interest groups taking part at the Royaumont Process and key European discussion partners on the consolidation of the civil society, recognised by the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe as necessary for restructuring and the market economy. The conference will thus be called upon to discuss follow-up measures through a proposed action plan that will be presented to the labour ministers the following day. The conference will have the three following themes as its backdrop: a) civil society and social dialogue as the basis for economic and social development; b) the process of modernisation of economic and social structures in the region; c) the means and processes for strengthening the economic and social organisations of countries of South Eastern Europe. Among the participants announced at this conference, we would mainly name Jaime Gama, Portuguese Foreign Minister and President in Office of the Council, Bodo Hombach, coordinator for the Stability Pact, Panagiotis Roumeliotis, European coordinator for the Royaumont Process.
We would recall that the process of stability and good neighbourliness in South Eastern Europe, decided at the initiative of the European Union on the fringe of the Paris Peace Conference on 13 December 1995 in Royaumont (France) and strengthened by the coordinator's mandate in November 1997, aims to ensure sustainable stability in the region of South East Europe together with the implementation of the peace plan through an effort to improve and restore dialogue and trust within the civil society.