Brnabic: Belgrade Declaration adopted, commitment to EU path confirmed

BELGRADE - Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic said on Wednesday a Belgrade Declaration adopted at a conference of parliament speakers of EU candidate countries established a new permanent format of cooperation confirming the commitment of all participant countries to the EU path.

In a statement after a meeting of top-ranking parliamentary officials, held as part of the two-day Belgrade conference, Brnabic said the commitment to the EU path as the best path for the citizens and the economies, as well as for building peace and stability further, had been confirmed.

"We have confirmed an absolute commitment to the UN Charter and to respect for international law, above all, to its fundamental principle - respect for the territorial integrity of internationally recognised states," Brnabic noted at a press conference with Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk.

She said a completely new and unique format of cooperation had been agreed at the conference.

"By adopting the Belgrade Declaration, we have agreed a format of cooperation and established it as a permanent format of cooperation, and agreed that the next meeting, in 2027, be held in Moldova. We continue to work together on European reforms, we will be exchanging our knowledge and experience through this format of cooperation and we will be trying to resolve the problems on the European path together," Brnabic said.

She said the conference also sent a positive message to partners in the EU.

Brnabic said the participants had agreed to extend a joint invitation to European institutions - the European Parliament in particular - as well as to the parliamentary assemblies of international organisations such as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, to join the initiative as observers.

The conference was held at the initiative of the Serbian and Ukrainian parliaments.

Brnabic thanked Stefanchuk for launching the initiative and for working together with her on its first meeting being held in Belgrade.

Stefanchuk said the conference had been successful and that the path to the EU represented a good platform for cooperation, and noted that EU candidate countries were not rivals, but partners in that process.

Wednesday's meeting was attended by Brnabic, Stefanchuk and top parliamentary officials of North Macedonia, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Georgia and Montenegro.