The role of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in the context of the Parliamentary Dimension of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) was recognized as important by the participants of the 9th Conference of the SEECP Speakers of Parliament, which took place in Becici, Montenegro, on 13-15 June 2011.

In her address to the event, Deputy RCC Secretary General Jelica Minic highlighted the organization’s efforts to strengthen the parliamentary dimension of regional cooperation and outlined the main results achieved so far in the implementation of the RCC Strategy and Work Programme 2011-2013.

“The RCC has actively contributed to the inclusion of the parliamentary cooperation into the framework of the Multi-Beneficiary Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) Strategy 2011-2013”, said Minic. “This will allow the region to translate the political goodwill into concrete cooperation among the lawmakers.”

The conference reiterated commitment to deepening and strengthening inter-parliamentary relations among the SEECP Participating States and adopted the Final Declaration to this effect.

The event was organized by the Montenegrin Chairmanship-in-Office of the SEECP. It was attended by Speakers, Deputy Speakers, Members of Parliaments and Secretary Generals of the Parliaments of the SEECP Participating States. The special invitees included the Head of the Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Cooperation in South East Europe, Mariana Vitanova, and a representative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The text of the Final Declaration is available HERE.