Plenary Session of the Conference of European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European Union – COSAC ended today in Athens and it was attended by the Delegation of the Committee on European Integrationof the Parliament of Montenegro composed of  Mr Slaven Radunović,Mr Zoran Srzentić and Mr Predrag Sekulić.

During the two-day meeting, representatives of the EU member states stated that the enlargement is one of the most successful policies of the Union, which contributes to the stability and development of democracy across the continent. Positive steps in negotiations with Montenegro, the opening of negotiations with Serbia and call for opening negotiations with Albania reflect a clear European perspective of the Western Balkans. Spanish MP pointed to the possibility for Montenegro to be invited to join NATO during the Summit in Wales.

After the first working day, where it was discussed about the challenges of the European Union, through the example of the crisis in Ukraine and democratic legitimacy in the postelection period, the second day was marked by debates about the European employment strategy and investing in young people, in the context of overcoming the economic crisis.

Although the overall assessment of the implementation could be positive, it is evident that uneven implementation of the 2020 Strategy among member states, primarily due to the economic crisis, so it is seriously considered in the European Commission about the auditing of this document. In order that a policy of consolidation could be stable, it is necessary to connect Strategy with a plan to strengthen the monetary union, so that the economic recovery of member states, especially in the part where there is the exclusive national jurisdiction, could follow the recovery of the EU as a whole. During the debate, opinions could be heard that the Union is "worn-out" so that it does not know how to deal with the existing problems in the economic and monetary union, how to stabilize the banking sector and reduce unemployment, especially among young people.  

At the end of the meeting, conclusions were adopted, stating that the European Parliament and national parliaments must ensure the democratic legitimacy of economic governance in the EU, to engage in public debate about the EU institutional structure in the context of existing contracts, but also to further enhance cooperation between national parliaments and the European Parliament, especially at the level of informal dialogue.

Parliamentarians of all member states, representatives of the European Parliament, European Commission, Council of the EU, parliamentary delegations of candidate states - Iceland, Serbia, Turkey, Montenegro, as well as guests from the parliaments of Norway and Georgia attended the plenary session.