Tuesday, 16 October 2012, Nicosia, Cyprus
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, MR. HAJRULA MISINI, AT THE COSAC CONFERENCE IN CYPRUS
The Chairman of the European Affairs Committee of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Hajrula Misini, is participating at the two-day Conference of the Community and European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC), held in the framework of the Cyprus Presidency of the EU in Nicosia. Mr. Misini took part in the debate on the Priorities of the EU Presidency. Mr. Andreas Mavroyiannis, Deputy Minister for EU Affairs of Cyprus, opened the debate.
Mr. Misini said that the EU enlargement policy was one of the most successful policies of the Union, emphasizing the importance for the Republic of Macedonia to receive the date for opening the accession negotiations at the December Summit of the European Council. He reiterated the commitment of the country to the implementation of the reforms, aimed at reaching the European standards.
Mr. Misini also reminded his European colleagues that Macedonia has received four consecutive recommendations for opening the accession negotiations with the EU and that this year’s Progress Reports from the European Commission is the fourth positive report in succession.
The opening of negotiations will bring a new impetus to the development of the Euro-integration processes in the country and will have positive effect on the stability in the region.
In his speech, Mr. Mavroyiannis pointed out that Cyprus has a positive attitude towards further enlargement of the European Union, but that the current situation in the EU must also be taken into consideration, especially because of the economic crisis. Regarding Macedonia, he reminded of the well-known existing obstacles on the path towards EU membership.
Mr. Misini met with several of his colleagues, such as the Chairperson of the European Affairs Committees from the Parliaments of Slovenia, Bulgaria and Lithuania, with whom he discussed the latest developments and the consequences of the economic crisis on the aspirant countries for EU membership and received their support for the integration processes of the Republic of Macedonia.