SEECP Chair Daniel Mitov and RCC Secretary General Svilanovic stress deeper cooperation is key in address to OSCE Permanent Council

VIENNA, 29 October 2015 –South East Europe (SEE), safer and more prosperous regional co-operation, were in focus of today’s OSCE Permanent Council address by the Chairperson of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) and Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov and Regional Cooperation Council Secretary General Goran Svilanovic.

“Successful regional co-operation is a fundamental element of effective multilateral co-operation,” said Mitov. “Transport and energy infrastructure, media freedom and freedom of expression, migration and overcoming the challenges posed by refugee flows, are the three main priority areas of the Bulgarian SEECP Chairmanship. For Bulgaria, the integration of the Western Balkan countries into the European Union has no alternative and we will continue to support it.” 

The SEECP, one of the leading political formats in the SEE established in Sofia in 1996, is marking this year its 20^th Anniversary. 

“Greater regional ownership, economic growth, competitiveness, employment, the rule of law and security are our priorities for the South East European region,” said Svilanović. “We have focused on the improvement of effective public services, building institutional capacities on anticorruption and regional co-operation in the area of justice. These are the areas where we can certainly deepen our co-operation with the OSCE and its field operations.”