The conference, attended by representatives of Western Balkans parliaments, was opened by Lindita Nikolla, Speaker of the Parliament of Albania who greeted the participants, highlighting Albania's commitment to regional cooperation and the EU integration process. Jorida Tabaku, Chairperson of the Albanian Parliament’s European Affairs Committee, informed the participants about the need to establish the parliamentary dimension of the Berlin Process. Majlinda Bregu, Regional Cooperation Council Secretary General, reminded the attending of the need to ratify the agreements that were adopted at the ministerial level as part of the Berlin Process.

Albanian Foreign Minister Igli Hasani spoke of the need to include the parliaments in the Berlin Process. He expressed hope that the process will contribute to the acceleration of the region’s EU integration process, emphasising the need for regional cooperation in order to further strengthen the EU integration process. Hasani reminded the participants of the agreements signed within the Berlin Process and expressed the hope that the Summit in Tirana will culminate in concrete results.

The conference was divided into two sessions. In the first session, the participants discussed the role of parliaments in the Berlin Process and in the second the challenges arising in connection with the four freedoms established by the founding treaties of the EU and the Berlin Process itself.

Elvira Kovacs addressed the participants in the second session. She said that through the Berlin Process, the Western Balkans region is preparing for EU accession, following the model according to which the EU itself was developed. The Berlin Process is an umbrella process that brought together numerous previous interregional cooperation initiatives.

She went on to add that, recently, there has been no progress in the European integration process, which is why citizens' support for EU integration has declined. According to the latest public surveys, support for the EU integration process is at its lowest in Serbia. She reminded the participants that, taking into account the crisis in Ukraine, a political momentum has been created in Brussels favourable for the process of further EU enlargement, which the participants of the Western Balkans should not miss. She also said that, on 28 April 2023, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia had ratified all three regional agreements signed at the Berlin Process Summit in Berlin.

How important the recognition of higher education qualifications is, we can see from the example of the negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina in 2011. Belgrade and Pristina have agreed to allow graduate students from both sides to have their diplomas certified. Nostrification referred to the mutual recognition of university diplomas, and according to available data, the Pristina side had recognised and nostrified 13 diplomas, while the Belgrade side did so with 374 diplomas. As of 2020, that process has been suspended by the Pristina side.

Elvira Kovacs expressed hope that bilateral issues will not block the further process of EU integration. She also emphasised that other regional initiatives, in addition to the Berlin Process, should not be rejected, drawing attention to the Open Balkans initiative.

In conclusion, Elvira Kovacs pointed out that by exercising their supervisory function, the parliaments will strengthen the system of checks and balances between the legislative and executive authorities, which will contribute to greater coordination between the two branches of government in all segments of EU integration.