Brussels, 19/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - The first conference between the European Union and the Stability Pact countries (South East Europe) was held on 17 and 18 September in Brussels (see EUROPE of 17/18 September, p.10). It adopted conclusions in which it insists among other things on:
1. A parliamentary contribution to regional stability mainly to: - encourage all parliaments to set up fora specialised in questions on the Stability Pact for the Balkans; - create a network between national parliaments, the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of Europe, in order to regularly assess the implementation of the Stability Pact; - set in place a parliamentary conflict prevention network as an instrument for "preventing and dealing at parliamentary level with all signs of destabilisation in the region"; - encourage the Parliament and the FRY to "discuss, in a constructive spirit, the proposals made by the Framework Agreement and to vote them".
2. The organisation of the second regional Stability Pact Conference, on 25 and 26 October in Bucharest, which will mainly confirm: - the importance of strengthening regional cooperation, as a pre-condition for the adoption of the Stabilisation and Association Agreements, as an "indispensable instrument to integrate the European Union"; - the continuation of the overall commitments of the EU, bilateral donors, international organisations and financial institutions to pursue their financial aid to the countries of the region; - obtain the support of WTO members for "early accession" by Bosnia-Herzegovina, the FRY and FYROM to the World Trade Organisation; - reach a clear definition and promotion of regional priority projects in the sector of infrastructure and environment.
3. The fight against organised crime, mainly by: - developing national strategies and, where necessary, transnational action plans; - strengthening cooperation of the countries of S.E. Europe with the EU and with international organisations and NGOs, including investigation and prosecution on a region-wide basis; - organising, on a regular basis, parliamentary debates on the fight against organised crime and the trafficking in human beings (on this last aspect, the conference called for better use to be made of EU instruments, including the CARDS programme, in favour of effective prevention programmes).
In their final press conference, the Chair of the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs, Elmar Brok, and Stability Pact Special Coordinator Bodo Hombach stressed the importance of parliamentary control on aid provided to the region by the donors. The European Parliament may have to "goad" things on concerning the fight against organised crime, added Mr Hombach.
During work, European CDU member Doris Pack, President of the European Parliament delegation for relations with South East Europe, criticised " big conferences that cost a lot of money", and said that smaller meetings at parliamentary level may have significant results for the Stability Pact". Describing the Brussels parliamentary conference as a "mammoth show", Ms Pack cited the example of meetings between parliamentarians of the countries concerned on the subject of education (in Zagreb), the trade in human beings (in Skopje) and environmental protection (in Brussels).