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Sofia - The meeting was chaired by Kristian Vigenin, Chairperson of the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds, National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria with the participation of the Chairman of the European Affairs Committee Domagoj Ivan Milošević and the members of the Committee Joško Klisović and Davor Ivo Stier.
Chairman of the European Affairs Committee of the Croatian Parliament, Domagoj Ivan Milošević, participated as a keynote speaker at the Session dedicated to the integration and connectivity of the so called Western Balkans – a new impetus to EU Enlargement Policy. In his presentation, Milošević welcomed the return of enlargement policy among the European priorities under the Bulgarian presidency, in particular holding of the EU-Western Balkans summit last month in Sofia, and announced the holding of an identical summit during the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2020. Although the traffic, social and economic connectivity in the region of South East Europe has been assessed as a key to progress towards EU membership Milošević stressed that connectivity could not be a substitute for enlargement.
Furthermore, Milošević talked about the integration and connectivity of the Western Balkans in the context of current challenges in the EU - external migrations, population movements within the Union and socio-economic development. He concluded by pointing out that accession to the European Union was not a goal in itself, but primarily a tool for the implementation of the necessary reforms, and has called for the retention of individual approach towards candidate countries and potential candidates. Other topics of the LIX COSAC meeting refer to the Achievements of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, European Pillar of Social Rights, and Cohesion Policy for the new Multiannual Financial Framework for the 2021-2027 period and EU interparliamentary cooperation in the context of the debate on subsidiarity and proportionality.
The meeting will be concluded by adopting the Contribution and draft Conclusions of the LIX COSAC and announcing the program and priorities of the upcoming Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU.