Liberal leaders in Sofia give strong support to the European future of Western Balkans

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Zagreb, 21st September 2015 - From 17th to 19th of September 2015 in Sofia, LIBSEEN Leaders Meeting was held, gathering high-level representatives of fifteen liberal parties from South East Europe and many distinguished guest from elsewhere in Europe.

On the occasion of the Leaders Meeting, Mrs. Vesna Pusić, Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, president of HNS and chairwoman of LIBSEEN spoke on the importance of liberal cooperation in the SEE region.

"As forward-looking individuals, liberals have always been instrumental in promoting change. In Western Balkans, this has meant advocating a European future of countries in the region and maintaining a commitment to reforms. In their efforts to secure a European future for their countries, Western Balkans liberals could always count on the support of their colleagues from the region and the European Union. LIBSEEN was established to promote just that kind of cooperation."

Leaders Meeting was opened with a panel discussion on EU enlargement policy with Lyutvi Mestan, president of MRF, Karl-Heinz Paqué, vice-president of the Board of Directors of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Boris Blažeković, MP (HNS), Calin Popescu Tariceanu, Speaker of the Senate (ALDE- Romania) as well as Juli Minoves, president of the Liberal International and Sir Graham Watson, president of the ALDE Party.

Following the discussion, representatives of LIBSEEN members adopted a resolution that calls for the European Commission to revise the enlargement stalemate and provide a powerful integration impetus that will reaffirm the commitment to European integration of countries in the Western Balkans. The resolution also recognized the importance of EU accession for the continued stability of the region as well as its development in accordance with European values.

The event in Sofia was organized by the LIBSEEN office and Movement of Rights and Freedoms (MRF) in cooperation with VVD and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, which also celebrated the 25th anniversary of its work on democracy and tolerance in Bulgaria.