ForMin Melescanu meets representatives of Bulgaria's, Serbia's Foreign Affairs Committees; Minister emphasises regional cooperation

The priorities of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the regional cooperation and the economic interconnection projects were among the topics tackled by Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu during his meeting on Wednesday in Bucharest with representatives of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the National Assemblies of Bulgaria and Serbia. 

According to a release of the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) sent to AGERPRES, the Romanian Minister welcomed the excellent cooperation between Romania and Serbia at Parliament level, complementary to the dialogue at Gov't level, including the high-level one, in quadrilateral format, with Greece's participation and pointed out the relevance of parliamentary diplomacy for correlating objectives of the foreign affairs and security areas with the citizens' expectations and interests. 

"Teodor Melescanu mentioned Romania's priorities for its mandate of the Presidency of the EU Council, with an emphasis on the foreign agenda and the consolidation of the global role of the EU, through its capability to efficiently support its interests in the neighborhood. In this context, Minister Melescanu underscored the support for the EU enlargement policy in the Western Balkans, according to the merits of the states in the region in meeting the accession criteria. He concretely underscored the support for boosting the accession process to the EU of Serbia and Montenegro, and the initiation of negotiations with the Republic of Macedonia and Albania, based on their efforts to meet the commitment took on in the relation with the EU," the release showed. 

The head of the Romanian diplomacy also highlighted the importance of regional cooperation for promoting the accession objectives of the Western Balkan states to the EU and interconnection projects, meant to contribute to the creation of an area with long-term economic growth outlooks. 

"The parliamentary delegations voiced their interest in maintaining a constant dialogue with Romania, in view of deepening the cooperation between the three states and promoting the common interests. The heads of Bulgaria's and Serbia's parliamentary delegations appreciated the relevance of Romania's objectives in the context of the forthcoming Presidency of the EU Council for the common interests at European and regional levels. They expressed support for the shared action in ensuring the continuity of the enlargement process and the endorsement of partner states," the quoted source mentions. 

The 3rd trilateral meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committees of Romania's Senate, Bulgaria's National Assembly and Serbia's National Assembly takes place in Bucharest between 11 and 13 December. 

This year's meeting, the third since establishing the format, was focused on the role of education in national security risk management, as well as fighting terrorism and reducing vulnerabilities in the digital environment.