International Parliamentary Institutions (IPIs) are becoming a global phenomenon. Since the end of the Cold War, they have rapidly multiplied in number and under a diversity of forms.  

In the Western Balkans, there exist several initiatives related to parliamentary cooperation including, for instance, the Cetinje Parliamentary Forum (CPF), the Conference of the European Integration Parliamentary Committees participating in the Stabilisation and Association Process (COSAP), the SEECP Parliamentary Dimension, amongst others.

In order to determine the most efficient way to support parliamentary cooperation, the European Commission / DG Enlargement has commissioned a Study on regional parliamentary cooperation. 

This document is the first part of the Study and contains the mapping of the existing Parliamentary Assemblies and parliamentary initiatives for regional cooperation in the Western Balkans and South East Europe at large. The mapping exercise foresees in an institutional analysis of all parliamentary cooperation platforms for the region, including the institutional landscape in which they operate, other parliamentary cooperation structures and synergies with the European integration process.

This Study is based upon an in-depth review of the relevant literature on IPIs and a series of interviews with senior parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and officials of various institutions and organizations in Ankara, Belgrade, Bucharest, Istanbul, Podgorica, Prishtina, Sarajevo, Skopje, Sofia, Tirana and Zagreb, as well as interviews with Members of the European Parliament and senior staff of the European Commission, the EEAS and the European Parliament.