Friday, 16 September 2016, Strasbourg
Address of the President Veljanoski at the European Conference of Presidents and Speakers of Parliament “National Parliaments and the Council of Europe: Together promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law”
Distinguished colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Since its establishment on 5 May 1949 fulfilling its statutory provisions, the Council acts towards establishment, practice, protection and development of fundamental rights and freedoms, strengthening democracy, creating joint legal standards. The Council of Europe is in a best position to effectively treat human rights, democracy and the rule of law since it has at disposal standards and methodology for cooperation in different areas and can easily mobilize the key actors in Europe to act toward a common goal, the Governments via the Committee on Ministers, Parliaments via the Parliamentary Assembly, Local Government through the Congress of Local and Regional Governances as well as the NGOs via the Conference of International NGOS.
The Council of Europe in particular was the organization, through which the European and Euro Atlantic integration of the Republic of Macedonia was initiated – first in 1993 – with the Special Guest status of the Assembly, followed by the full – fledged membership in 1995. As a state in transition that needed to implement thorough social and economic reforms we needed to adopt or amend, in rather short period of time, hundreds of laws. The assistance we received then from the Parliamentary Assembly, the Venice Commission and other specialized bodies of the Council of Europe for number of significant projects connected with the development of the parliamentarism and the democracy in our state were particularly valuable. Symbolically speaking, the door for joining the European family was initially opened to us by the oldest European Organization that today is comprised of 800 million Europeans. In 2010 the Republic of Macedonia presided with the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for the first time, which was the year when the Council of Europe marked the 60th Anniversary since the adoption of the European Convention on Human Rights, one of the most recognizable legal instruments of the Organization. In the framework of the our six – months Presidency we demonstrated that we are prepared and have capacities to actively contribute in the resolution of the issues the Council of Europe is faced with and gave maximum contribution for promotion of the values and standards of the Organization and its political relevance on the international scene.
As Assembly, we continuously invest efforts to confirm our role as the key democratic pillar of the society, during which, the expertise of our natural partner the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is of key importance for the overall democratic development. The Delegations of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, actively participate in the work of the Committees and Plenary Sessions of the Parliamentary Assembly since 1995, when the Republic of Macedonia became full-fledged member of the Council of Europe. We are currently in a post monitoring dialogue in regard with the obligations and tasks taken over during the admission in the Organization, while the recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly that contain objective suggestions in the area that need improvement are considered as a best manner for contribution in the resolution of the problems.
Aside from the post monitoring dialogue, the Republic of Macedonia is part of the regular monitoring procedures of the Expert Committees of the Council of Europe, such as the Committee on Prevention from Torture, the European Committee Against Racism and Intolerance, Advisory Committee on Framework Convention for National Minorities, the Commissioner on Human Rights, regular theme monitoring procedure of the Committee on Ministers. For us, the acts and reports of the Council of Europe on the level of democratic standards, human rights and freedoms in the Republic of Macedonia seriously influence our internal reforms. The active participation of our state institutions in the fora and bodies of the Council of Europe, as well as the active participation of the state representatives in the specialized bodies of the Council of Europe, undoubtedly demonstrates our commitment to build a society based on the principles and values of the oldest international organization.
The Council of Europe regularly sends its delegations to the elections in the Republic of Macedonia, as part of the international election monitoring missions headed by OSCE / ODHR, with whom we cherish open and cooperative relations.
Distinguished colleagues,
I believe that you will agree that the human rights and civil freedoms as well as the development of the democracy are nowhere and never fully realized, since their realization is a continuous process. The Council of Europe is an institution that provides useful legislative instruments to find appropriate answers to modern challenges. The recommendations of the Council of Europe have always been welcomed and considered as support for our democratic development.
A period we consider to be important for the process of our European integration is ahead of us. In addition to the political challenges we are faced with, we are constantly dedicated to building a multicultural, multinational and muticonfessional society, to the reform processes in the key areas, to promotion of the good neighborly relations with our neighbors, as well as constructive participation in surpassing the open bilateral issues.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today, when we are celebrating 25 years since our independence and almost 21 years since our accession in the Council of Europe, we can conclude that we have achieved significant results in the respect of the human rights and freedoms, as well in the general implementation of the principles, aims and standards of the Organization. I can proudly underline that the values of the Council of Europe are widely accepted by the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia.
Thank you.