President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova addressed the Summit of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Sofia today and pointed out the need to revive the spirit of regional cooperation and return to the principles on which this process was established 3 decades ago.
Recalling the problems facing Southeast Europe, she assessed that the mass emigration of young people, the aging population, the economic backwardness and deteriorating geopolitical circumstances require courageous and responsible leadership, guided by common interests and solidarity.
According to her, the process of enlargement of the European Union must be based on the Copenhagen criteria, and progress in the implementation of reforms must dictate the pace of the accession process.
Referring to the words of Bulgarian author Georgi Gospodinov that “when the doors of the future close, the past becomes the only homeland”, she warned of the need for de-Balkanization through Europeanization.
For her, European integration is natural, as well as a geopolitical and security necessity, and a stable, prosperous and European Balkans is in the interest of all countries in the region, but also of Europe.
Siljanovska-Davkova called for regional responsibility, as a guarantor of moving towards a predictable and secure common future, emphasizing that the success of each country should be experienced as the success of the entire region, and the competition should be led in knowledge, innovation, culture and economic development, rather than in blockades and divisions.
