BULGARIA’S PRESIDENT PLEVNELIEV OPENS THE SUMMIT OF SOUTH-EAST EUROPEAN COOPERATION PROCESS

The summit of the South-East European Cooperation Process started in Sofia Tech Park on 1st of June. Bulgaria’s President Rosen Plevneliev hosted the event.

The forum marks the 20th anniversary of SEECP and the conclusion of the one-year-term of Bulgaria as a rotating chair of SEECP.

The organization was launched in 1996 at the initiative of Bulgaria.

In an address at the opening of the summit, President Plevneliev said that cooperation, partnership, the rule of law and human rights and freedoms were the only way leading to peace and prosperity in the region.

Two decades ago the region was torn apart by mistrust, tension and conflicts. We do remember those ties all too well. Back then all of us were at the periphery of the enlarging European Union. Cooperation between us was not particularly significant, the President noted.

Today we build bridges, highways and interconnectors, we produce and trade together, and we want borders to fall, not to move. Never before have the countries from the region been so well connected to the rest of Europe. Now is the time for us to also connect to each other. Never before have cooperation and good neighbourhood relations been such a decisive factor for positive development. European integration is the driving force for those positive development processes. Now Southeast Europe has the chance to develop and unfold its great potential, he said.

The full text of the speech is available here: