Bulgaria hosted the First Meeting of the SEECP Committee of Political Directors
23 November 2015 News
The First Meeting of the SEECP Committee of Political Directors was held on 23 November 2015 in Sofia. It was attended by senior diplomats from the capitals of the 13 countries participating in the Process, the Regional Cooperation Council, the European Commission, the European External Action Service, as well as representatives of their Embassies accredited in Sofia.
The main goal of the event was to report on the activities of the Chairmanship, as well as to review the forthcoming initiatives until the end of June 2016.
The participants congratulated Bulgaria for its highly ambitious programme and the priorities set out in the field of connectivity and migration, which are extremely relevant of the current challenges the region is facing. Special emphasis was given on the outcomes of the First Informal Ministerial meeting held in New York within the framework of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly, the synergy with other international formats as OSCE and the EU institutions, as well as on the High-level events organized on energy, migration issues and demographic challenges. The participants acknowledged the SEECP as the leading political platform in the region and its importance for European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the countries of the Western Balkans.
The main emphasis at the meeting was placed on the unprecedented migration and refugee flows that pass through the so-called. Balkan route and the fight against violent extremism in the context of the crisis in Syria and the terrorist attack in Paris on November 13, 2015. The Chairmanship delivered a presentation on the topic of the global and regional cooperation in fight against terrorism. The parties agreed on the assumption that the lasting solution to the refugee and migration crisis must be sought in the root of the problem, and that is precisely the conflict in Syria.
The Participants unanimously supported the Chairmanship's proposal for adoption of a Joint Statement to address the challenges posed by migratory flows during the Second Informal Ministerial Meeting to be held in February 2016 in Sofia.
Finally, in light of the 20th Anniversary of the SEECP in 2016, the Chairman proposed the preparation of a Final Declaration in honour of the cooperation in the Process over the past 20 years, to be adopted during the Summit at the end of the Chairmanship.