Including the Western Balkans into European integration processes is the best way to achieve the region's internal transformation towards full democracy, it was said at the conference that discussed, among other things, relations with south-east European countries.
Integrating Western Balkan countries into the EU will help establish a zone of stability and strengthen the EU's global role, Austrian Parliament Speaker Andreas Khol said submitting a report on this topic. Europe will not be united until Western Balkan countries join it too, he said.
Khol also said that because of its candidate status Croatia should no longer be mentioned as one of the countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) which covers Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Albania.
A report on south-east European countries, whose parliamentary leaders joined the conference today, warned about the problem of organised crime and corruption, lack of stable political structures, problems in dealing with the past and in the extradition of Hague war crimes tribunal indictees, who the report notes are considered as national heroes by a part of the population, and about lack of an institutional framework for the establishment of a modern democratic society and the functioning of the market economy.
The discussion on this topic marked the end of the two-day conference of European parliamentary leaders, which pooled European parliamentary speakers, leaders of the European Parliament and parliamentary leaders from EU candidate countries and countries covered by the SAP. Croatian Sabor Speaker Vladimir Seks attended the conference as well.