Wednesday, 24 March 2010, Madrid
Active participation in the regional initiatives contributes to securing peace and security on the Balkans
The Delegation of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, headed by the Chairperson of the Committee Ms. Teuta Arifi and composed of Mr. Vlado Buckovski and Mr. Pavle Trajanov, during their visit to the Kingdom of Spain, met their hosts - Mr. Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida, Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Congress of Deputies and the Members of the Committee, as well as the Chairman and the Members of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Senate of the Spanish Parliament.
The Delegation also had a meeting with the Joint Committee of the two Houses for European Union Affairs and with representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain.
During the talks both sides expressed satisfaction from the relations between the two Foreign Policy Committees, as well as hope for improvement of the cooperation in future. In this context the parliamentarians emphasised the role and the importance of parliaments in the strengthening and broadening of the forms of cooperation, not only in the framework of the parliamentary dimension, but also for the overall bilateral relations between the two countries.
The Macedonian MPs reiterated the strong commitment of Macedonia for realization of its European perspective, informing their counterparts about the situation in the country and the activities for fulfilment of the criteria for Euro-Atlantic integration.
One of the topics at the meetings was the use of our constitutional name and the bilateral issue between Macedonia and Greece, and the Macedonian MPs expressed our readiness for constructive continuation of the discussions.
Regarding the situation in the region, the security of the region was discussed, and it was concluded that the European perspective of the Balkans guarantees its stability and the stability of Europe in general. The parliamentarians from the two countries shared the view that active participation in the regional initiatives contributes to the peace and stability of the Balkans. They also discussed the cooperation in the framework of the Mediterranean Process, which contributes to the development of the overall relations between Macedonia and Spain.
During the meeting with the Joint Committee for EU Affairs of the Spanish Parliament the acceleration of the accession process of our country was discussed, and the hosts reiterated their readiness for providing assistance and sharing their experiences regarding this process.
At the meeting in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the interest for development of the friendship between the two countries and for promotion of the cooperation in the areas of mutual interest was underlined.
The Spanish hosts expressed understanding for the challenges facing Macedonia, as well as their interest for further development of the bilateral relations and for providing support and assistance in the efforts made by Macedonia aimed at fulfilling the remaining obligation and criteria in the process of integration in the Euro-Atlantic structures.