The first meeting of Speakers of the parliaments of countries aspiring to join the European Union was held in Copenhagen within a new informal format initiated by Ukraine.
“It is symbolic that here — in the city where the Copenhagen criteria were adopted — we are discussing a new level of parliamentary coordination on the path to the European Union,” emphasised Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk.
According to him, each EU candidate country has its own experience of European integration, and the creation of a common platform will allow for more effective exchange of best practices, coordination of actions, avoidance of mistakes, and acceleration of the required accession steps.
The Speaker stressed that the role of parliaments in this process is decisive, as a significant part of the conditions for EU membership is implemented through legislative decisions.
As a result of the meeting, the participants agreed to further develop this cooperation format, establish a schedule for future communications, and hold the next meeting in one of the EU candidate countries.
Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed gratitude to his fellow Speakers for their support of the initiative, in particular to Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova Igor Grosu and Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Ana Brnabić — for their practical assistance in launching it and for their high appreciation of the importance of this format.