Monday, 16 November 2009
Delegation from the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia participated in the work of the Committees at the 55th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
The Delegation from the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia participated at the meetings of the Committees, held in the framework of the 55th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Edinburgh, UK, on 14th and 15th November 2009.
The Macedonian Delegation was composed of Mr. Talat Xhaferi - Head of the Delegation, Mr. Vlado Buckovski, Member of the Delegation, and Mr. Pavle Trajanov, Deputy-Member of the Delgation.
The Political Committee adopted the Resolution on Reaffirming NATO's Open Door policy, reiterating that the NATO Alliance is opened for all democratic states willing and able to promote the principles of the Washington Treaty and contribute to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area. The German Delegation submitted an amendment which was adopted by the Political Committee, adding two new paragraphs on the Republic of Macedonia, separating it from the other aspirant countries.
The amendment states that an invitation to the Republic of Macedonia to accede to NATO will be extended as soon as a mutually acceptable solution to the name issues has been reached. Also, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly urges the Government and the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia to continue to use the Membership Action Plan instruments to foster the necessary reforms, while working on a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue on the way to full NATO membership.
The Resolution is expected to be confirmed at the Plenary Session of the NATO PA, to be held on 17th November.
Over 350 MPs from the 28 NATO member states and from over 20 parliaments with the status of associate member met to discuss and express their views and concerns on a broad range of security issues.
The main discussions were held in the framework of the five committees of the NATO PA, based on reports prepared by the MPs - Members of the Assembly and on briefings by international security experts.
The NATO-led operations in Afghanistan, as well as the relations with Russia were high on the agenda of the Committees and were the main focus of their work. The preparations for the new Strategic Concept of NATO, the situation in Pakistan, Iran, piracy, climate change, energy security, terrorism, nuclear power, defence budgets, and food security were also topics of interest at these meetings.