07/06/2010 President
8th Conference of Speakers of Parliament from the countries of the South-East European Co-operation Process (SEECP)
“Freedom of movement of people in Europe is the absolute pre-condition for any further integration,” PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu said in his speech today at the 8th Conference of Speakers of Parliament from the countries of the South-East European Co-operation Process (SEECP) held in Antalya. He was satisfied, he said, that a visa-free regime had been introduced by several countries of the Western Balkans and that the EU Commission had recommended the abolition of visas for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania.
South-Eastern Europe was not simply the object of his special interest, but also an important priority for the Assembly, the PACE President underlined, recalling his recent visits to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova and Montenegro, as well as Assembly meetings held in Skopje two weeks ago.
“The South-East European Co-operation Process is an effective form of co-operation based on a powerful principle: the idea that our region must take its future in its own hands,” Mr Çavusoglu said, predicting that it would grow more and more influential within and beyond its borders.
“The parliamentary dimension of this Process makes it more democratic and closer to the people of the member countries,” the President concluded, underlining that he was extremely pleased and proud to see such an important conference being held in his region and constituency.
Hosted by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the Speakers Conference is discussing the perspectives of creating a Parliamentary Assembly for the region, and co-operation with existing regional parliamentary bodies such as PACE.