The Speaker of the National Assembly Ms Tsveta Karayancheva, the Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee Ms Dzhema Grozdanova and the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament David McAllister will open on the 16 February 2018 the Inter-Parliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).
The second event from the Parliamentary Dimension of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU will start at 14.30 h at the National Palace of Culture Congress Centre. The forum is hosted by the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Defence Committee of the National Assembly.
Over 200 delegates from the foreign affairs and defence committees of the national parliaments of EU Member States, the Western Balkan and the Eastern Partnership countries, as well asrepresentatives of the European Parliament will take part in the conference on foreign, security and defence policies of the EU. The Interparliamentary Conference is a platform for maintaining dialogue and cooperation between national parliaments and the European Parliament. It establishes a framework for the exchange of information and best practices in the area of CFSP / CSDP and provides an opportunity for parliamentarians to contribute to the process of implementing these policies.
During the first day of the conference the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini will present to the parliamentarians the current priorities and goals of the Union in the field of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy.
The European perspective for the Western Balkans and the acceleration of reforms in the region will be the main focus of the discussions on the second day of the conference, with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Ms Ekaterina Zaharieva, the Managing Director of the European External Action Service for Europe and Central Asia Mr Thomas Mayr-Harting, MEP Mr Eduard Kukan and the Founding Chairman of the European Stability Initiative Mr Gerald Knaus. The agenda of the conference also includes the implementation of the Global Strategy on CSDP and the situation in the Black Sea region. The workshops to be held on the second day will pay special attention to the strategic energy and transport connectivity of the Western Balkans, the Danube strategy and EU-China relations.
On the day prior to the start of the conference, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Ms Dzhema Grozdanova and the Chair of the Defence Committee, General (ret.) Constantin Popov will give a official welcome reception to the foreign delegates at the National Archaeological Museum.