The heads of the parliaments of candidate countries for EU membership launched a mechanism of annual meetings aimed at deepening political dialogue and strengthening cooperation between legislative bodies in the process of European integration.
Under the Belgrade Declaration on Cooperation, the inaugural conference was held at the joint initiative of the National Assembly of Serbia and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The parliamentarians agreed to strengthen interaction, exchange experiences, and hold regular consultations on EU integration.
Participants in the format supported all levels of interparliamentary cooperation – from interactions between speakers and relevant committees to contacts between the offices of the parliaments.
The next conference will take place in 2027 in Moldova.
Mechanism and prospects for cooperation
According to the website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Speaker of the Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk is on a visit to Serbia. During his meeting with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, he discussed the consequences of the latest Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities, the situation at the front, and further paths of Ukrainian-Serbian cooperation. Stefanchuk also called the slowdown of the EU enlargement process unjustified, as it sends false signals to forces seeking to weaken Europe, above all Russia.
Such initiatives emphasize the shared aspiration of candidate countries to strengthen cooperation on the path to full EU membership.
