Zagreb hosts meeting on defense and security

A two-day annual meeting of representatives of defense and security committees of parliaments from Southeast Europe is being held in Zagreb, jointly organized by the Parliamentary Defense Committee and RACVIAC – Center for Security Cooperation.

The meeting is an opportunity to exchange views and experiences on parliamentary oversight in the field of defense and security and strengthening cooperation among the countries of the region.

The participants were welcomed by the Director of RACVIAC Miroslav Šćepanović, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Defense Committee Arsen Bauk, the Vice-Chairman of the Defense Committee Ante Deur, the Senior Manager of the Eurasia Department of DCAF Geneva Teodora Fuior, and the Head of the Department for Democratic Governance and Gender Equality of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Julija Netesova.

“I am convinced that over the next 2 days, in a positive atmosphere and sincere dialogue, we will discuss topics of our common interest, share experiences on effective parliamentary practices, and perhaps be inspired to make changes in areas where they are needed. I am convinced that such a meeting contributes to strengthening cooperation between our parliaments, preserving dialogue and stability and peace in Southeast Europe, which is the ultimate goal. And so that there is no global chaos, which I sincerely hope will bypass our region this time, it is important to discuss these matters,” said Bauk.

“The Republic of Croatia continuously supports the work of RACVIAC because, we believe, regional cooperation and building trust are more important than ever before. In all the circumstances we find ourselves in, especially in the current security environment, marked by numerous challenges, from geopolitical, instability and hybrid threats to issues of the resilience of democratic institutions. Such forums have additional value and responsibility,” said Deur.

On behalf of the Croatian Parliament Speaker, Deputy Parliament Speaker, Academician Željko Reiner, addressed the participants.

The first day of the meeting will discuss parliamentary oversight of the defense and security sector, the current state and good practices, while the second part is dedicated to the protection of the rights and responsibilities of members of the armed and police forces in the countries of Southeast Europe.

The meeting continues tomorrow.

The Chairman of the Defense Committee Arsen Bauk, ahead of the meeting, stressed that such gatherings are important for the exchange of experiences and dialogue between countries.

“Even if there were no global chaos that we are witnessing and no certain tensions in the relations between countries in the region, such gatherings would be important for the exchange of experiences, clarification of some open issues and to show that dialogue is important and that there is no alternative. The alternative to dialogue is known, and I hope that we are far enough away from that both in the past and in the future,” said Bauk.

Source: HRT