Tuesday, 1 December 2020
VIRTUAL MEETING OF PRESIDENT XHAFERI WITH PRESIDENT SOBOTKA
The President of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, Mr. Talat Xhaferi had a video-meeting with the President of the National Council of the Republic of Austria, Mr. Wolfgang Sobotka.
President Sobotka thanked for the telegram of condolences sent after the terrorist attack in Vienna on 2nd November this year, while expressing condolences to the citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia who lost his life as a victim in this horrific act. Both interlocutors agreed that the fight against terrorism requires the involvement not only of the police, but of society as a whole, because it doesn’t recognize religions or ethnic communities, and the punitive measures are as important as the mechanisms for prevention and early identification of radicalization. They praised the active cooperation and effective exchange of information between the institutions of both countries in the fight against terrorism.
Presidents Xhaferi and Sobotka also exchanged opinions regarding both states with the Covid 19 pandemic. They concluded that the situation is equally difficult, that the pressure on health care is strong and that the impact on the economy is negative and that dealing with the spread of the virus requires a coordinated action and full utilization of all available human and material – technical resources. Therefore, Xhaferi informed that in the Republic of North Macedonia is declared a 30-day state of crisis.
Regarding the EU integration, President Sobotka underlined that the Republic of Austria remains a strong supporter of the Republic of North Macedonia for the opening of negotiations as soon as possible and that he firmly represents his position at all levels in the EU institutions. Concerning the Bulgarian veto, President Xhaferi underlined that the communication channels remain open and that he hopes on overcoming the differences in the negotiation process. Otherwise, the Euro-skepticism will grow, concluded Xhaferi.
Both Presidents expressed satisfaction that even in these extraordinary circumstances of work, the cooperation for establishing a Democracy Workshop in the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia following the example of the one operating within the Austrian Parliament continues, which aims to share knowledge and stimulate the interest on politics and democratic processes among young people. President Sobotka expressed his will to personally attend the opening of the Workshop in the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia.