Opening the event, Croatian Parliament Speaker Vladimir Seks said that meaningful intensive cooperation between parliaments laid down the foundation for the development of good relations between countries as well as for the settlement of open issues and the creation of conditions for better and quality life of citizens.
"It is useful to operationalise the work on joint projects at the level of parliamentary committees which can concretely and efficiently address some issues from the scope of their activities," Seks told participants in the conference.
The event pooled parliamentarians from Croatia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro and several European parliamentarians.
The chairman of the Croatian parliamentary committee on European Integration, Neven Mimica, told reporters that the aim of the meeting was to discuss topics important for the European Union and in southeastern Europe such as the process of the adjustment of the European Constitution and agreement on a budget for the next seven year.
"We would like to convey a message from the region to the EU and the European Parliament about what we consider to be the best European framework which could motivate and encourage necessary reforms in the countries in the region," Mimica said.
He added that the meeting, which will end on Monday afternoon, would highlight the importance of regional cooperation and bilateral ties, too.