The third panel of the Europa Karpat international conference in Krasiczyn was devoted to parliamentary cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. They discussed, among others, how foreign policy directions are changing, for example in the context of Brexit, and the cooperation of parliaments represented by various, often fighting political forces.
According to the panelists, parliamentary institutions aimed at uniting the region, such as the Parliamentary Assembly, should be established not as an alternative to the Council of Europe, but as an instrument for expanding our cooperation, especially since countries that belong to NATO, such as Albania or Montenegro, still have a closed path to the EU.
Deputy Speaker of the Sejm moderating the panel Ryszard Terlecki He emphasized that the countries of the region - whether they are members of the EU, aspiring members, or those critical of it - share the experience of Soviet domination, which makes it much easier for us to understand each other and to cooperate.
Emanuelis ZingerisZingeris, the author of the Lithuanian resolution on the anniversary of the 3rd of May Constitution, stressed that thanks to the parliamentary diplomacy the relations between Poland and Lithuania are good as never before. - Our relations are at the fraternal level, the joint celebrations of the 450th anniversary of the Union of Lublin were a big event, and the legacy of the Republic of Poland is a great positive for the present," Zingeris said. The Seimas deputy also paid attention to the work done for the improvement of the Polish-Lithuanian relations by Marshal Marek Kuchcińskiwho was involved not only as a politician and diplomat, but also spiritually.
Olena Kondratiuk, deputy chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, raised the issue of violation of international agreements and the war in Donbass, which has already lasted six years. According to her, with this in mind, we should talk about collective security and strong neighbourhood projects, such as Tri-City.
Richárd HörcsikThe chairman of the Hungarian National Assembly's Commission for EU Affairs, noted that there are several issues that divide us, such as our attitude towards Russia, but we should build strong relations in the region, if only because of our common roots and experiences. We need to define who we are and what we can do for our countries not only individually, but also jointly, including parliamentary cooperation. According to Hörcsik, this will result in security, strengthened borders, larger budgets and development of the Carpathian region.
Zbigniew RauThe chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Polish Sejm, pointed out that political divisions in the pluralistic part of Europe will always exist, but we should work to prevent them from being so sharp. An excellent point of reference is the Visegrad Group, where there are four governments and four parliamentary majorities belonging to four political families, and every year we realize that there are more common interests. According to the President, the institutionalization of parliamentary diplomacy, such as Carpathian Europe or an expanded Tri-Council, is a better protection against the military threat from the East, immigration from the South and a series of challenges in the West of the EU, described as a power play - from passing the budget to the mobility package.
