Heads of candidate countries met in Copenhagen to discuss closer parliamentary coordination. Details on the informal platform and planned next meetings will emerge in coming weeks.
According to Ruslan Stefanchuk’s official page, during the meeting of the heads of parliaments of candidate countries for EU membership in Copenhagen, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine emphasized the importance of creating an informal association of these parliaments for exchanging European integration experience and coordinating actions.
According to him, each candidate country has its own path to European integration, so a common platform is needed for exchanging knowledge, aligning steps, avoiding mistakes, and accelerating progress through the key stages. The role of parliaments in this process is decisive, as many conditions for joining the EU are implemented through legislative decisions.
In Copenhagen, the first meeting of heads of parliaments in this format took place. Symbolically, it is here – in the city where the Copenhagen Criteria were adopted – that we spoke about a new level of parliamentary coordination on the path to the EU
– Stefanchuk
Next steps and assessment of the initiative
According to the Speaker, the agreed arrangement provides for developing this format, defining the schedule of further communications, and the location of the next meeting in one of the candidate countries.
He expressed gratitude to his fellow speakers from the candidate countries, especially to the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Igor Grosu, and to the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, for practical assistance in launching this initiative and for the high regard for its significance.
The meeting underscored the importance of coordinating the parliaments of candidate countries and the need for further exchange of experience to advance European integration processes.
Кандидати на вступ до ЄС потребують спільної платформи для обміну досвідом євроінтеграції – Стефанчук