At this critical moment for Europe and the SEE region, Bulgaria took over, for the third time, the chairmanship of the South-East European Cooperation Process for the period of 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016. Under the slogan “SEECP – a key to regional cooperation over the past 20 years”, the Chairmanship aims at promoting constructive dialogue and cooperation among the SEECP participants in order to raise the effectiveness and visibility of the regional initiative among the international partners. In terms of the collision between European integration and growing nationalism, it is our responsibility to defend the European idea by guaranteeing the stability and territorial integrity of the countries in the region. The South-East European Cooperation Process is the proper format for reaching such ambitious perspectives for the benefit of all our friends in the region