Monday, 27 February 2012
Lithuania supports the integration of the Republic of Macedonia in the EU and NATO
The Vice President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Jani Makraduli, the members of the Parliamentary Group of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia for Cooperation with the Parliaments of the Baltic countries: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and of the Committees on European Issues and Foreign Policy met with the members of the Delegation from the Parliament of Lithuania, headed by Mr. Česlovas Vytautas Stankevičius - Deputy Speaker of the Seimas (the Lithuanian Parliament) and Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs.
The Delegation from Lithuania included Mr. Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis - Deputy Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs and member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Egidijus Vareikis - Chairman of the Group of the Lithuanian Parliament for Inter-parliamentary Relations with the Western Balkan Countries and member of the Committee on European Affairs, and Mr. Valerijus Simulik - member 
of the Committee on European Affairs and of the Committee on Human Rights, and member of the Group for Inter-parliamentary Relations with the Western Balkan Countries.
At the meeting with Mr. Makraduli, Mr. Stankevičius said that the dispute over the name of the Republic of Macedonia is a thing of the past and that although finding a solution for this problem will not be easy, Macedonia must build good-neighbourly relations. He informed the Vice President of the Assembly that on 24 January 2012 the Committee on European Affairs of the Lithuanian Parliament proposed to the European Council to find ways to start the accession negotiations with the Republic of Macedonia without preconditions regarding the name dispute. Mr. Makraduli pointed out that Macedonia could learn a lot from the work of the Committee on European Affairs of the Lithuanian Parliament.
At the meeting with the Parliamentary Group of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia for Cooperation with the Parliaments of the Baltic countries, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group, Ms. Liljana Popovska, expressed appreciation for the recognition of the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name and for the support for the membership of Macedonia in NATO and the EU. The members of the Lithuanian Delegation offered sharing the experiences in the process of accession to NATO and the EU and pointed out that the distance between Macedonia and Lithuania should not be obstacle for having good cooperation.
The Deputy Chairman of the Committee on European Issues, Mr. Arben Ljabunishta, and the members of the Committee informed the guests about the activities of the Committee and expressed gratitude for the support Lithuania is giving to the Republic of Macedonia on its path towards membership in NATO and the EU.
The Lithuanian Delegation also met with the members of the Committee on Foreign Policy who reiterated that Macedonia has no alternative to the membership in NATO and the EU and expressed hope that the negotiations for membership in the EU will start soon, because it is important for the country, but it is also in the interest of the security, stability and development of the region and Europe in general.