site.btaParliament Hosts High-Level Conference on Democratic Stability Based on European Unity

Parliament Hosts High-Level Conference on Democratic Stability Based on European Unity

Sofia, February 9 (BTA) - Parliament Tuesday hosted a a high-level conference on "Democratic Stability Based on European Unity and Cooperation" with the participation of the chairpersons of the foreign affairs committees of the parliaments of the Council of Europe Member States. Also attending the forum was Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) President Pedro Agramunt.

National Assembly Chair Tsetska Tsacheva said at the forum's opening that the solutions to the problems can be achieved only through joint actions and a common policy. In her words, the use of extraordinary measures in a serious situation is acceptable precisely in order to protect the European unity's main values. "The protection of our borders against illegally crossing migrants does not go against the principles of democracy and the rule of law," she noted. The problem with migrants cannot be an issue of a single country, she noted. "Parliamentary democracy is our answer to the challenges of the dynamically changing day and the international environment in which we live," Tsacheva added.

PACE President Agramunt said history teaches people that mature democracies do not wage war against each other. Seventy years after the end of World War II and 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Europe is still not at peace, he noted. In his words, the process of reconciliation and pan-European unification began after 1989 but the last years saw the appearance of cracks, frozen or smouldering conflicts, particularly at Europe's eastern borders, which are a real threat to Europe's stability. There are many challenges undermining the European values, such as international terrorism, the refugee crisis and the rising nationalism, and no country can find an effective answer to them on its own, Agramunt said. He expressed strong belief that the Council of Europe has the necessary strength, capacity and instruments to handle these challenges.

Addressing the participants in the forum, Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said that European citizens expect them to regain their control over events and not allow the external environment to mould them. In his words, the migrant crisis best illustrates the need of joint European solutions. According to him, integral and long-term solutions to the crisis are needed, and not just a short-term mitigation of its effects. Restoring Syria is not less important than the efforts to put an end to the hostilities, Mitov said, adding that in 2016 Bulgaria will allocate 400,000 euro through various programmes in support of Syria. He recalled that Bulgaria is among the countries which insist on the establishment of a common European border police. "We should be able to return those who have no grounds to reside in Europe," the Foreign Minister noted.

Interior Minister Roumyana Buchvarova said that the migrant crisis is complex as a construction and should be solved at various levels. "We should look for solutions for the protection of the EU's external borders, the fate of those who are already in Europe, and how we will continue to live with them, without this causing additional problems," she said. In her words, the representatives of various ethnic, cultural and religious groups who are coming to Europe are mini-societies carrying their own problems. Buchvarova noted that in the last six months the structure of the migrant waves passing through Bulgaria has changed significantly. Now the main part of these migrants come from Iraq (52 per cent) and Afghanistan (30 per cent), and only 15 per cent come from Syria, the Interior Minister specified.