LIBSEEN Leaders Meeting in Zagreb proves to be a great success

Details

Hits: 457

Zagreb, 11th November, 2014 – Organized by the LIBSEEN office, Croatian People's Party (HNS) and its Political Academy with the support of D66 and technical assistance of the newest member of the European Liberal Forum- International Educational Centre, LIBSEEN Leaders Meeting was concluded after two days of discussions of high-level representatives of liberal political parties in the region of Western Balkans and parties and foundations that support their development. The successful conclusion of the Meeting is yet another testament to the value of LIBSEEN, a network of liberal parties and think tanks in the SEE region which has proven itself as an effective forum for an exchange of ideas and experiences.

LIBSEEN Leaders Meeting began on Friday, November 7 with a preparatory seminar for the ALDE Congress in Lisbon. Moderated by Vedrana Gujić (president of LYMEC), Maarten Koning (D66) and Wouter Schroer (VVD), seminar presented the merits of a proposal of D66 and VVD that is aimed at unifying ALDE party and EDP. There was also talk on the ALDE Bureau elections and LYMEC's activities in the SEE region.

The Meeting was officially opened on Saturday, November 8 by Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, President of the Croatian People's Party and the Chairwoman of LIBSEEN, Mrs. Vesna Pusić who talked on the Presidents Panel about the state of affairs in the SEE region, the European perspective of countries in Western Balkans and the Croatian initiative for a tailor-made approach to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following on the presentation of Mrs. Pusić, Mr. Dennis Gratz, President of Naša stranka (BiH) examined the results of general elections in BiH that were held in October, 2014. Presidents Panel was concluded by Mr. Boris Miletić, President of IDS (Istrian Democratic Assembly, Croatia) with a lecture on the European path of Istria, which, he said, could serve as an example to others in the region.

After the first part of the program, a press conference was held which was attended by Mrs. Vesna Pusić, Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, President of the Croatian People's Party and the Chairwoman of LIBSEEN, Mr. Boris Miletić, President of IDS (Istrian Democratic Assembly, Croatia), Mr. Jozo Radoš, MEP and Vedrana Gujić, President of LYMEC.

Deputy Prime Minister and the Chairwoman of LIBSEEN Vesna Pusić said that liberal democratic parties had given a key contribution in the successful transition and accomplishment of the goal of accession to the EU.

"For this part of Europe, the best way to build a stable country is to build functioning institutions that are beneficial to their citizens. Within LIBSEEN, we function as a subgroup of ALDE and we talked about the situation in some countries in that part of Europe and new initiatives that could improve the efficacy of their coming closer to accomplishing the goal of EU accession or in other words- accomplish a transformation that is a condition of membership."

President of LYMEC Vedrana Gujić gave a presentation of LIBSEEN which has functioned as a network of liberals of Southeast Europe for more than 15 years. Ms. Gujić emphasized the fact that a great number of young politicians grew up within the network where they gained their first political experiences.
Young people who are growing up in a liberal environment and who are ready for mobility and learning, understanding, tolerance of differences of countries in the region are the cornerstones of a new political movement that is ready to take on the responsibility of building peaceful societies founded upon political values that are not based on hate, conflicts and discrimination of our neighbours in the region."

President of IDS, Mr. Boris Miletić said that the European Commission supports regional cooperation and that Istria is a good example of a leader-region on the path towards a united Europe and that the region has a tradition of nurturing European values in its political history.

"European Commission supports European cooperation, especially after the Berlin summit in October, 2014 which can be a good path for cooperation between member-states, and as EU represents stability and security of Europe, it's only prudent for new members to join us as well"

Member of the ALDE group in the European Parliament and a member of the Croatian People's Party (HNS), Mr. Jozo Radoš talked about the effects of a new European Commission on the EU enlargement policy in the context of Mr. Juncker's statement that there will be no enlargement in the next five years.

"Political actors, especially in ALDE group, and particularly representatives of Croatia are advocating EU enlargement. Though necessary and logical, EU enlargement in the Western Balkans is also a very complicated task. I hope that with our efforts, we can be a stimulating factor in getting this task accomplished." – said Radoš.

Mr. Radoš's presentation was an introduction to a seminar session that followed and which dealt with the issue in more detail.

During the two-day LIBSEEN Leaders Meeting in Zagreb, a theme of freedom of the press in Macedonia was discussed with Mr. Nano Ruzin, Vice-president of the Liberal Democratic Party (Macedonia) presenting the situation in his country. After talking extensively on the issue the last weekend, many representatives of liberal parties and foundations gave their support to Mr. Ruzin and LDP for their promotion of liberal ideas in Macedonia.

LIBSEEN Leaders Meeting in Zagreb was concluded with a presentation of activities of the European Liberal Forum, Novum Institute, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the National Democratic Institute in the region. Mrs. Felicita Medved, president of ELF talked about the program of the European Liberal Forum and Novum Institute, while Dušan Dinić, regional project coordinator of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and Lidija Zafirovska, director of political parties program of NDI Macedonia presented the work of their organizations in capacity-building for political parties and strengthening of democratic and liberal practices in the region.

Through attending the LIBSEEN Leaders Meeting in Zagreb, participants had an opportunity to participate in productive discussions on many topics that are relevant for the European future of the region. More ever, liberal leaders had an opportunity to establish new contacts and create a seed of future cooperation in a relaxed atmosphere of the Meeting in Zagreb.