BUCHAREST SUMMIT: REGIONAL COOPERATION IS RIGHT TRACK TO EUROPE

BUCHAREST, Feb 12 (Hina) - At the end of a one-day summit in Bucharest on Saturday, countries of South-East Europe obliged themselves to regional cooperation as a way to access Euro-Atlantic associations, which is a priority strategic task of South-East European countries. Six Balkan countries - Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania and Turkey, and Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as observer-countries, participated in the third summit of the South- East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), at which they signed a charter on good neighbourly relations, stability, security and cooperation. "Regional cooperation is no longer only a factor of local security but a way to enter Euro-Atlantic structures," an assistant to the Croatian Foreign Minister, Vladimir Drobnjak, told Croatian reporters at the end of the summit. "The first goal of all these countries is their integration into the European Union and NATO, and the second goal is the stabilisation of South-East Europe in the field of security, democracy and economy," Drobnjak said, adding the charter and the closing declaration were "programmes which stabilise the region integrating it at the same time into the EU and NATO." The documents signed today were welcomed by Romanian President Emil Constatinescu and the premiers of Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Turkey. The charter emphasises the commitment of South-East European countries to democratic and economic reforms and improvement of bilateral relations, and is aimed at lessening tensions between some countries in the region. The document also regulates conduct between countries in the region and their future cooperation. The closing statement of the summit stresses the determination of the member-countries to draw closer to the EU and NATO. The SEECP summit was also attended by the special coordinator for the Stability Pact for South-East Europe, Bodo Hombach, who dismissed criticisms about the slow implementation of the Pact's projects and announced a conference on financing, which should be held in Brussels in March. Participants in the summit said the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the seventh full member of the SEEPC, however, the situation in the country had to normalise before its representatives were invited to SEEPC meetings. The member-countries expressed hope this would happen by the next summit, to be held in Skopje in December this year. The SEEPC was established in 1996 from the Balkan Conference and its aim is the establishment of cooperation, stability and security in the region. Romania is chairing the association until March 1 this year, when Macedonia is to take over the chairmanship. (hina) rml