On June 26, the Institute for Democracy (IDSCS) in collaboration with the Institute Alternativa (IA) from Montenegro organized the interparliamentary conference “The benefits of the Berlin Process: A special focus on the Common Regional Market” in Petrovac, Montenegro.
The opening remarks were delivered by the host representative Valentina Kalezic, Researcher at the Institute Alternativa, and Zoran Nechev, Head of the Centre for European Integration at IDSCS.
Nechev addressed the audience emphasizing the need for defining the Parliaments’ role within Berlin Process, with a presentation of the project activities.
“Engaging Parliaments in a dialogue on regional level advances regional cooperation and we aim to use this project as a platform for the Parliamentarians to discuss and present their perspective of Parliaments’ involvement in the Berlin Process” stated Nechev.
The first session titled “Berlin Process and its current state of play in Western Balkans” gathered Members of Parliaments from all Western Balkans region, including Robert Kozma, Marija Petrushevska, Kreshnik Çollaku, Jasmin Emrić, Blerta Deliu-Kodra and Mirsad Nurkovic. The discussion led to several conclusions including straightening the debate in the Parliaments on topics such as Berlin Process outcomes, and through debate bringing the initiative closer to the citizens of the WB region; the need for BP initiative to be better represented among MPs and in the media and closer cooperation with regional organisations responsible for implementation and oversight of the BP activities.
The second panel discussion focused on “Common Regional Market 2.0 – What has worked before and challenges for the Action Plan 2.0? The position of the WB Parliaments”. The panel discussion gathered Snežana Paunović, Ermina Salkičević Dizdarević, Rina Ajdari and Time Kadrijaj. The discussion emphasized the need for productive debate on economic questions important for the citizens and the business community including not just Common Regional Market but also the Growth Plan for the WB region.
This event was part of the “Parliamentary Diplomacy: Regional Cooperation through Enhanced Parliamentary Dialogue” project, which aims to promote the laws and benefits of the Berlin Process through the promotion of parliamentary diplomacy and the use of oversight mechanisms by the parliaments of the Western Balkans region.
The project is implemented by six project partners in each of the six Western Balkans countries. The lead partner is the Institute for Democracy (IDSCS). The other project partners are Institute Alternativa (IA), Institute for Political Studies (ISP), CRTA – Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability, Kosova Democratic Institute (KDI), and the Network of Progressive Initiatives (NPI).
