site.btaSofia Hosts Balkan Conference of Party of European Socialists

Sofia Hosts Balkan Conference of  Party of European Socialists

Sofia, May 11 (BTA) - Sofia Monday hosted a Balkan Conference of
the Party of European Socialists (PES) on "The Balkans:
Progressive Vision of a
Common Future", the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) said in a
press release.

Attending the conference were BSP leader Mihail Mikov and MPs of
BSP-Left Bulgaria, MEP Georgi Pirinski, Albanian Defence
Minister Mimi Kodheli, Romanian Ministry of Labour, Family,
Social Protection and the Elderly State Secretary Ioana Cazacu,
Serbia's Democratic Party President Bojan Pajtic, PES Deputy
Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck, and the Vice-President of
the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and
Democrats in the European Parliament, Knut Fleckenstein. Also
attending were representatives of the socialists and democrats
in Croatia, France, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and
Montenegro.

BSP leader Mikov told the participants that there are many
challenges facing the Balkans, first of all those to the social
and economic development. According to him, the encouraging
signs from Europe are important for the people, who feel ever
more pessimistic in the conditions of a grave social and
economic crisis. The second type of challenges are those of
terrorism - the Islamic State - and the situation in Ukraine, he
said. The events in Ukraine harbour a serious risk of limiting
human rights. "We, as representatives of the Left, should be
extremely careful when the achieved fundamental rights are
limited in the name of the fight against terrorism," he argued.

Mikov noted that social development, human rights protection and
solidarity should be the Left's trademark to reach the
citizens.

In his words, there are many serious challenges in Europe today,
such as nationalism, the creation of movements and parties
seeking to misuse the national and nationalistic expectations in
the crisis period. "We need to have the strength to oppose
[these challenges] and we can do this together," Mikov said.
According to him, this can be achieved through mutual contacts,
partnership, and joint meetings and initiatives.

PES President Sergei Stanishev also addressed the participants.
Kristian Vigenin, rapporteur of PES' Western Balkans Working
Group, was the discussion's moderator.