SARAJEVO – Role of national parliaments in Western Balkans and Turkey in negotiations for EU accession will be discussed at a meeting hosted by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat in Sarajevo, on 17-18 March.

The event, co-organized with the European Commission’s Enlargement Directorate-General, is prepared under the framework of the European Union’s Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Multi-Beneficiary (MB) Sector Working Group on Public Administration and Governance.

The main goal of the meeting is to create a platform for development of a regional project to be funded through the IPA MB.

Participants will tackle benefits of regional cooperation and European experience, ways to strengthen expert services in national parliaments, cooperation between the European Parliament and the national parliaments of enlargement countries, role of the RCC in improving parliamentary cooperation in the region, as well as the public administration and governance segment of the MB IPA Strategy 2011-2013.

Opening addresses will be delivered by Jelica Minic, Deputy RCC Secretary General, and Pascal Herry, from the Regional Programmes Unit of the Directorate-General for Enlargement, European Commission.

The regional meeting will gather secretary generals and chairpersons of the committees for European integration of national parliaments from Western Balkans and Turkey, as well as representatives of relevant international organisations and other stakeholders.

RCC Secretariat’s coordination and facilitation of regional parliamentary cooperation is a priority activity of the RCC Strategy and Work Programme 2011-2013.

Journalists are invited to the opening of the meeting, on Thursday, 17 March 2011, at 10.00 a.m., at the premises of the RCC Secretariat, Trg BiH 1/V, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.