site.btaSofia Hosts Meeting of Heads of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union

Sofia, January 22 (BTA) - A meeting in Sofia Monday of the heads of the Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) marked the start of the parliamentary dimension of the Bulgarian EU Presidency.

Opening the forum, Bulgarian National Assembly Chairperson Tsveta Karayancheva described COSAC's agenda during the Bulgarian EU Presidency as ambitious and interesting. Karayancheva said that for nearly 30 years now the format has proven to be a successful way for the participation of the national parliaments in the decision making process in respect of the topics on the EU agenda and a guarantee for democratic supervision of the European Parliament by the citizens.

During its Sofia meeting COSAC will discuss the priorities of the Bulgarian EU Presidency: youth, economic growth, digital economy, the Western Balkans, the future of Europe, and the cohesion policy.

Chairman of the European Affairs Committee in the Bulgarian Parliament Kristian Vigenin welcomed the participants in the meeting and congratulated Estonia and its Parliament on the successful EU Presidency which preceded the Bulgarian one. Explaining the origin of the motto of the Bulgarian EU Presidency, United We Stand Strong, Vigenin said that the EU needs strength and determination to respond to the expectations for security, economic growth and coping with climate change. He said that the process of the EU enlargement to the Western Balkans has no alternative, and is one that guarantees security and prosperity. Vigenin noted that this is why the Bulgarian EU Presidency is guided by the understanding of security and stability through cooperation and integration, and through better connections of the region with the European single market. He dwelled on other highlights of the Bulgarian EU Presidency: structuring the priorities of the next EU budget, work on strengthening the visibility of the Danubian Region and the Black Sea Region, improving their connectivity.

COSAC's discussions on Monday are focused on three key topics: the priorities of the Bulgarian EU Presidency, EU's Future: Strength in Unity, and the role of the EU macro-regional strategies.

The forum is attended by European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, Bulgarian Vice President Iliana Iotova and Chair of the European Parliament's Regional Development Committee Iskra Mihaylova, among others.

A meeting took place late on Sunday evening of the heads of the trio of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union, the Bulgarian National Assembly said in a press release. The trio of the parliamentary dimension of the EU Presidency discussed and mapped out the current topics from the European agenda to be discussed in a meeting due to be held in June.

One of the highlights of the trio meeting was the creation of a COSAC working group in respect of the performance of the working group on subsidiarity and proportionality headed by Timmermans. The COSAC working group will include representatives of all national Parliaments of the EU member states and will be headed by Vigenin.