Tuesday, 21 February 2012
MEETING OF THE PRESIDENT VELJANOSKI AND THE MEP “FRIENDS OF MACEDONIA”, RICHARD HOWITT, EDUARD KUKAN AND ALOJZ PETERLE
The President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Trajko Veljanoski had a meeting with the MEPs and “Friends of Macedonia”, Mr. Richard Howitt, Mr. Eduard Kukan and Mr. Alojz Peterle.
The President Veljanoski referred to the work of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia and underlined that the Assembly received a positive evaluations by the European Union in the past three consecutive Reports, that the political dialog is being exercised and that every entity in the Republic of Macedonia stands for sooner integration of the state .
The President Veljanoski also underlined that the Assembly, as an immediate representative of the citizens has a very important role for the introduction of the principles, standards and values of the European corpus in the everyday lives.
In this context he reaffirmed the efforts for promotion of the capacities of the Assembly. He stated that the process of reforms is comprehended as a need to achieve the European standards and to raise the competitive power of our economy.
Finally, the President Veljanoski expressed hope that the Decision from the International Court of Justice in Hague on the imposed name issue will create positive conditions for the aspirations of the state.
The remarks and the recommendations of the Draft-Resolution of the European Parliament on the Progress of the Republic of Macedonia in 2011 were also presented. The MEPs agreed that the Republic of Macedonia is waiting for the opening of the negotiations for a long time and that this situation should be surpassed.
The MEP, Mr. Eduard Kukan referred to several issues and concluded that in these difficult times for EU, many European events have happened in the Republic of Macedonia and they should be recognized. The opening of a high level accession dialogue is a small step forward at the opening of the negotiations.
The MEP, Mr. Richard Howitt, who is also a Rapporteur on the Republic of Macedonia to the European Parliament, underlined that the Draft-Resolution which is to be adopted in the mid May provides a clear support for the opening the negotiations with the Union and clearly contains the name Macedonian. He referred to the already started process for strengthening the parliamentary capacities of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia.
The MEP, Mr. Alojz Peterle briefly referred to the importance and the role of the parliamentary diplomacy in the international communication.