Speakers of the parliaments of Albania, BiH, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia met in Brussels for the European Parliament’s Second Western Balkans Speakers’ Summit after which they adopted a joint Declaration on Monday. The speakers of Bosnia's House of Peoples Bakir Izetbegovic and House of Representatives Borjana Kristo took part in the Summit.

There they discussed the key role of parliaments in the EU enlargement process in a post-COVID-era with European Parliament President David Sassoli. They also met with members of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs.

After the Summit, the participants adopted a joint Declaration which can be read below in its entirety:

“We, the Speakers of the Parliaments of the Western Balkans, together with the President of the European Parliament and the Speakers of the Portuguese and Slovenian Parliaments, representing the current and upcoming Presidencies of the Council of the European Union,

1. Reaffirm the central role of parliaments in the enlargement process and commit to working together to further strengthen its parliamentary dimension, including in view of the 2021 EU-Western Balkans Summit.

2. Emphasise that parliaments should further advance their role as inclusive spaces of dialogue and exchange of views, fostering mutual understanding and reconciliation in the Western Balkans, thus directly contributing to peace, stability, prosperity and stronger democracy in the region.

3. Commit to promoting a culture of cross-party dialogue and consensus in key reform areas including the rule of law, fundamental rights, and strengthening democratic institutions in order to advance on our European path; stress that independence of the judiciary, pluralism, free and independent media, gender equality and an inclusive approach to civil society are core European values that need to be constantly upheld; underline the importance of countering disinformation and fake news that endanger peace and mutual understanding within and among societies.

4. Renew our commitment to strengthen parliamentary democracy by working together through inter-parliamentary dialogue and by making use of the support of the European Parliament in the area of mediation and dialogue, parliamentary capacity building, election observation and human rights actions.

5. Express our appreciation for the acts of solidarity and the cooperation between the European Union and the Western Balkans in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.

6. Welcome the unprecedented financial support by the European Union for the benefit of the Western Balkans, which confirms the European Union’s efforts to contribute to the sustainable development and the long-term socio-economic recovery of the region.

7. Emphasise the importance of the well-functioning market economy and the regional common market as the cornerstone of socio-economic resilience and the European integration of the whole Western Balkans; express our commitment to facilitate the implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, as well as the initiatives approved in Sofia in November 2020 – the foundation of the Common Regional Market, the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans and strengthening digitalization, youth cooperation – in order to ensure sustainable economic development and to meet the EU standards.

8. Recognize the challenges raised by the COVID-19 pandemic to the everyday functioning of parliaments and commend the resilience and adaptation capacity of our institutions; underline that it is paramount that our parliaments uphold their roles in pandemic and post-pandemic times by fully exercising their legislative, scrutiny and oversight roles.

9. Stress the importance of involving representatives of the parliaments, civil society and citizens of the Western Balkans Six in the Conference on the Future of Europe.

10. Call on the Council of the European Union to deliver on its promises and urgently take decisive action to accelerate the enlargement process; emphasize that the European perspective and a merit-based EU accession process of the Western Balkans remain in the Union’s very own political, security and economic interest; recall that enlargement remains more than ever a geostrategic investment in a stable, strong, and united Europe.

11. Commit to engaging and working together to advance legislation and build up capacities of the relevant committees for monitoring environmental protection, align legislation with mitigation and adaptation for climate change and in accordance with Paris Agreement and European Green Deal; commit equally to increasing the resilience of the Western Balkans region with regard to climate change by reducing harmful practices, preventing pollution and degradation of rivers and seas and implementing strict policies for the protection of biodiversity.

12. Affirm our commitment to hold summits of the Speakers of the Western Balkans Parliaments with the President of the European Parliament and the Speaker of the Parliament holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union at regular intervals, as fora of exchange and cooperation at the highest parliamentary level.”

The first EP-Western Balkans Speakers’ Summit took place at the European Parliament on 28 January 2020 under the patronage of President Sassoli. The Joint Declaration issued afterwards reaffirmed the fundamental role of parliaments in driving forward the EU reform agenda and in delivering on the European aspirations of the Western Balkans’ people.