TIRANA, Dec. 4 – Secretaries General of the Western Balkans Parliaments, who gathered in Tirana on Dec. 3 and 4, agreed on the need to further increase public participation in legislative processes. They also stressed that parliaments and civil society should work together to oversee the public consultation on draft legislation at all stages.
The meeting of the Secretaries General, which takes place on an annual basis since 2009, was co-organized by the Assembly Albanian Parliament and the OSCE Presence in Albania, with the support of other OSCE field operations in South-Eastern Europe.
According to the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament Ilir Meta, such meetings offer a great opportunity to further strengthen parliamentary co-operation at the regional level “Our vision is a fully transparent parliament, which reflects the citizens’ perspective; a parliament that is in direct contact with the citizens; an open parliament willing to share information and be accountable.” He also praised the continuous assistance offered by the OSCE to Albanian state institutions and civil society in promoting transparency.
Deputy Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania Robert Wilton emphasized that the active citizens are the best guardians of democracy.
“The engagement of the civil society is vital for developing a positive and transparent relationship between the state and its citizens. The civil society also has a critical role to play in monitoring parliament’s work and holding it accountable.” Wilton also reaffirmed the Presence’s continued support to and partnership with the Albanian Parliament.
The participants agreed on the financial autonomy of parliaments and strategic planning of their activities, procedures for organizing and managing petitions, as well as transparency and technology development.
The next meeting of the Secretaries General of the Western Balkans Parliaments will take place in 2016, in Montenegro.
