Wednesday, 29 May 2013
ESTONIA SUPPORTS MACEDONIA ON ITS PATH TOWARDS MEMBERSHIP IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
Ms. Liljana Popovska, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia for Cooperation with the Parliament of the Baltic States, and the members of the Group Ms. Deshira Imeri and Mr. Emilijan Stanković had a meeting with the Delegation of the European Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Estonia.
Mr. Arto Aas, Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (), headed the Estonian Delegation that also included the members of the Committee Ms. Ester Tuiksoo, Mr. Rannar Vassiljev and Mr. Reet Roos. H.E. Mr. Arti Hilpus, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Estonia to the Republic of Macedonia, accompanied the Delegation.
At the beginning of the meeting the Macedonian parliamentarians expresses satisfaction from the visit, emphasizing that it will contribute to the strengthening of the parliamentary cooperation between the two friendly countries. They also expressed appreciation for the support that Estonia is giving to Macedonia in the Euro-integration process.
The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group Ms. Liljana Popovska emphasized especially the Resolution on Macedonia that the Parliaments of the three Baltic States Estonia, Estonia and Lithuania adopted last year. The Resolution clearly states that the European Union should start the accession negotiations with the Republic of Macedonia, regardless of the dispute over the name that the country is having with Greece.
Ms. Popovska said that the integration of a country should not be impeded if it carries out the necessary reforms and receives positive reports, and added that the name issues is illogical and absurd, especially because it affects the identity of the nation. She pointed out that the vast majority of the Macedonian citizens support the integration in the EU and NATO, but that the continuous postponements result in disappointment and frustration, although there is unanimous conviction that there is no alternative to the Euro-Atlantic integration of Macedonia.
The Head of the Estonian Delegation Mr. Arto Aas said that despite the good relations between the two countries there is lack of information about each other because of the scarce visits and modest economic cooperation. He pointed out the excellent political relations and discussed with his hosts the economic situation in both countries and other issues such as the population policies and the problems with immigration in other countries.