site.bta National Assembly Chair Tsacheva Participates in European Conference of Presidents of Parliament in Strasbourg

National Assembly Chair Tsacheva Participates in European Conference of Presidents of Parliament in Strasbourg

Strasbourg, September 15 (BTA) - Bulgarian National Assembly Chair Tsetska Tsacheva is taking part in the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament, held in Strasbourg on September 15 and 16, Parliament said in a press release on Thursday.

The event is attended by heads of parliament of the 47 Member States of the Council of Europe; of parliaments enjoying observer and partner for democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and of international parliamentary assemblies.

Tsacheva addressed the Conference on Theme 1: "Migration and refugee crisis in Europe Ц role and responsibilities of parliaments."

"Coping with the refugee crisis requires an effective common foreign and security policy - something which Bulgarian institutions, including Parliament, have been consistently standing up for," Tsacheva said.

She pointed out that the migrant crisis is a grave problem that the European countries must address, at that in a volatile, interdependent geostrategic environment. In her words, the aspects of the European countries' foreign policy are now more than ever before bound to the external dimensions of security.

"Only a common European response could lead to a long-term and sustainable solution," the National Assembly Chair added. In her opinion, the solo actions that certain countries are tempted to take do not provide a sustainable solution to the refugee crisis.

"Bulgaria, which is a border Member State of the EU, attaches paramount importance to rigorous border control," she pointed out. "The idea of such control is to make sure that the migration that we confront is within the bounds of the law, that border crossers are mandatorily registered, that a clear distinction is drawn between persons in need of protection and economic migrants," she specified.

"What matters to us most is implementation of the EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement," Tsacheva said, recalling that Turkey makes the implementation of this agreement contingent on the lifting of EU visa requirements for Turkish nationals. "It is crucial, both for us and for all Europe, that Greece, as well as our neighbours Macedonia and Serbia, should cope with the migrant crisis," the National Assembly Chair added.

"The measures on living together in the 21st century, that PACE recommended to European governments in 2011 and reaffirmed in 2015, require from newcomers settling in the territory of European countries to accept European values, human rights and the rule of law as their own values," Tsacheva noted.

She recalled an initiative of the Bulgarian delegation to PACE of 2015, adopted unanimously by the Assembly in Sofia on November 27, which called for reaffirming the principles of European unity and cooperation.

Within the forum, the National Assembly Chair took part in a meeting of women presidents of parliament, initiated by European Parliament Vice President Ulrike Lunacek, at which the place of women in politics and governance was discussed.