Eugenio Zoffili, Jevrosima Pejović and Fatmir Mediu in Tirana, 27 May 2026COPENHAGEN, 29 May 2026 – A number of senior OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Members have participated this week in a Security Forum in Tirana, held under the auspices of Niko Peleshi, Speaker of the Parliament of Albania. Focused on strengthening the transatlantic partnership, the high-level event included the participation of OSCE PA officers including Vice-President Eugenio Zoffili (Italy) and Committee on Political Affairs and Security Vice-Chair Jevrosima Pejović, as well as Fatmir Mediu (Albania).
Vice-President Zoffili highlighted the special importance of parliamentary diplomacy, underlining the essential function of parliaments in building peace processes, as well as the role of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which he described as a key player in promoting dialogue and reinforcing mutual trust in order to prevent conflicts.
“In multilateral parliamentary assemblies, different worldviews coexist and engage with one another, giving a voice to different groups, interests and age groups of the population,” Zoffili said. “It is on this pluralism that the future of our peoples must be built, transforming differences and conflicts into dialogue and mediation.”
Zoffili, who serves as the OSCE PA’s Special Representative on Organized Crime, also highlighted the recent Inter-Parliamentary Conference on the Fight against Organized Crime in the OSCE Region, held in Rome, which brought together over 150 parliamentarians and experts from more than 40 OSCE participating States to build strategies in the fight against drugs.
First Committee Vice-Chair Pejović underscored the importance of regional co-operation as a key pillar for strengthening security, stability, and collective resilience among neighbouring countries. “An increasingly uncertain geopolitical landscape, joint defence procurement enables small nations that share common values and challenges to pool resources, accelerate capability development and reinforce the collective deterrence and security,” she said.
In his remarks, Fatmir Mediu, a former Defence Minister of Albania, stressed the need for the transatlantic relationship to move from dependence to a true strategic partnership, which he said is now more relevant than ever. Describing the transatlantic relationship as a mutual security alliance based on shared interests, shared risks, and shared deterrence, Mediu argued that the U.S. and Europe need each other for intelligence-sharing, strategic military bases, and defence industrial co-operation.
The Security Forum was held 27-28 May under the theme “The U.S.-Europe Partnership: The Indisputable Role of NATO” and included the participation of former OSCE PA Vice-President and Vice-Chair of the human rights committee Robert Aderholt (United States) and former OSCE PA President George Tsereteli (Georgia).
