The meeting in Bratislava was also attended by Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader who spoke at the session called "The Thessaloniki Process - Reports from Croatia and Serbia". Sanader said Croatia's objective was to complete negotiations with the European Union by the end of 2008, stressing that without dialogue, tolerance and respect for human dignity under Christian standards there can be no untied Europe.
The 10th dialogue of the EPP and the Orthodox Church was also dedicated to positive effects of the Thessaloniki process. At its summit in Thessaloniki in 2003, the European Union said Southeast European countries had clear prospects for joining the bloc.
The participants in the Bratislava meeting - Croatian PM Sanader, Greek PM Kostas Karamanlis, representatives of the governments of Serbia, Macedonia, Romania, representatives of Christian Democratic parties of the countries of the region and Europe, EPP leaders and numerous Orthodox priests and several Catholic dignitaries - spoke about political and religious cooperation in the promotion of European integration processes.
The integration of Southeast European countries with Europe must be promoted dynamically, with active participation of national and local religious leaders through their spiritual, pastoral and practical activities, read the final declaration. The document also said that religious leaders from Croatia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia (Kosovo) and Macedonia should be invited to visit European institutions in order to gain information.
The participants in the forum called on the religious leaders in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the reconciliation process is still fledgeling, to look above the interests of their communities and cooperate so as to help Bosnia continue its European path.
They also called on the European Commission to set up a programme for the reconstruction of historical religious buildings torn down in conflicts in the region.
Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the group of the EPP and the European Democrats is held each year.