Friday, 14 May 2010
THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASSEMBLY, MR. TRAJKO VELJANOSKI IN STOCKHOLM
The two-day Conference of Presidents of Parliaments of EU member states and EU candidate countries was opened today in Stockholm. The President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Trajko Veljanoski, addressed the gathering at the morning session dedicated to the Lisbon Treaty and the inter-parliamentary cooperation.
Mr. Chair,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am convinced that the future of the European Union is based on the Lisbon Treaty. In this framework the national parliaments, together with the European Parliament, are the key institutions through which the Lisbon Treaty, i.e. the future European Union shall be realized and shall develop to the benefit of us all. With the signing of the Lisbon Treaty the process of enlargement has been defined as a fundamental value.
For the Republic of Macedonia, as a candidate country, in this stage it is very important to implement all the principles and mechanisms emphasized today by the introductory speakers. I am convinced that this opinion is shared by the other two candidate countries. One of the ways to do this is to develop and strengthen the parliamentary cooperation in the region, especially having in mind the fact that our neighbours - Republic of Bulgaria and Republic of Greece - are EU member countries. We should strengthen the parliamentary cooperation also with the other EU members-states and with the European Parliament. Of course, this cooperation should be done primarily through the parliamentary committees, as specialized bodies covering specific areas of work, although we should not exclude other types of cooperation. Having in mind the new communication technologies, an issue we will discuss in the second part of today’s conference, this cooperation could be even more intensive and more efficient.
In this framework it is also important how the future role of COSAC will be defined.
For us as a candidate country the principle of subsidiarity is issue of importance, because this is where we can see the conflict between the national interests and the common interest. Because of this, we as a candidate country should start immediately with the strengthening of the capacity of the national parliament in order to be able to respond to all the challenges and to take over the responsibilities once we become an EU member country – since the Lisbon Treaty establishes the foundations of the EU as an inter-parliamentary democracy, instead of what is has been until today – an inter-governmental and supra-national entity. It is up to you as member states to accomplish this goal, and we in the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia are here to learn from you and to implement all that.
Thank you.