Thursday, 23rd July, 2009
The President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia Mr. Trajko Veljanoski had a meeting with the EU CommissIONER for Enlargement, Mr. Olli Rehn
At the meeting, Mr. Trajko Veljanoski expressed his satisfaction with the Decision of the European Commission to recommend abolishment of the visa regime for the Macedonian citizens and stressed that Macedonia deserved this since it has fulfilled all the conditions, and at the same time the Macedonian citizens can practice one of the fundamental human rights and a European standard - the free movement of people.
The President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Trajko Veljanoski, referred to the role of the Assembly in the process of accession to the EU: “We are aware that the future harmonization with the European legislatiion, as well as implementation of the reforms must be completed in a proper manner. Because of this, we are strengthening the role of the Parliament, we work hard on the adoption of the required laws, but at the same time we are strengthening the role of the Assembly in the process of implementation of the laws. We are strengthening the independence of the Assembly, as well as its control function over the executive. I expect the date for opening of the negotiations in the Autumn Report of the European Commission, because I believe that our results are valued in Brussels, and that other interests or bilateral issues would not prevail”. Mr. Trajko Veljanoski also stressed the role of Commissioner Rehn and his support of the open doors policy, i.e. full EU membership of the Republic of Macedonia and other states from the Region.
Commissioner Rehn, once again pointed out that the European Commission has not changed its policy regarding accession of new member in the European Union. He also emphasized that the dynamics will depend primarily on the results achieved by every individual candidate country. Commissioner Rehn once again stressed the role of Parliament in these processes, encouraging the Government, but also the opposition to responsibly complete the process of approaching and accession to the EU, because Macedonia is and will remain part of Europe.