Tuesday, 11 January 2011
THE PRIORITIES OF THE HUNGARIAN PRESIDENCY ARE PRIORITIES FOR THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
The Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary to the Republic of Macedonia, H.E. Ferenc Kekesi, on the 65th Meeting of the Committee on European Issues presented the Program and the Priorities for the Work of the Presidency of the Republic of Hungary with the European Union, for the period January- June 2011.
Mr. Petar Pop Arsov, chairman of the Committee Chaired the Meeting, the Ambassador, Mr. Erwan Fouere, the Vice Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Vasko Naumovski, the Chair of the National European Integration Council, Ms. Radmila Shekerinska Jankovska, the Chair of the Foreign Policy Committee, Ms. Teuta Arifi, the Chair of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Mr. Alksandar Spasenovski, the members of the abovementioned bodies, as well as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain, Mr. Fernando de Galainena Rodriges and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium ,Mr. Mark Mikelsen.
At the very beginning the Ambassador Fouere underlined that 2011 is the year of jubilees, when the Republic of Macedonia marks the anniversary of its independence, as well as the anniversary of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, which is a pillar of the interethnic relations and its full implementation requires dedication of the Government and every member of the society.
Mr. Fouere also underlined the importance of the implementation of the adopted laws which will be harmonized with the EU regulations, the importance of the political dialogue and social consensus regarding the census, which will take place in April 2011, and which, in his words, is a test for the interethnic relations and a test for the trust in the institutions in the state.
“Hungary will support the efforts of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia to join the Union in accordance with the Conclusions from the European Council. In this regard, Hungary is prepared to assist the negotiations and to be actively included if all sides require that. We support the negotiations under the auspices of UN”- stated the Ambassador Kekesi.
The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union will build its political agenda around the human factor, focusing on 4 pillars:
- Growth and employment for preserving the European social model
- Stronger Europe;
- Citizen Friendly Union
- Enlargement and neighbourhood policy
The Vice Prime Minister, Mr. Naumovski expressed hope that a date for opening accession negotiations will be determined for the Republic of Macedonia during the Hungarian Presidency and he emphasised that “ the question should not be weather the candidate states should become Member States of EU, but how they can become Member States as soon as possible.”
The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Petar Pop Arsov welcomed the priorities of the Hungarian Presidency and underlined that these are the priorities for the Republic of Macedonia as well. The first three priorities are important because the Republic of Macedonia is a candidate state, but the fourth priority- Enlargement and neighbourhood policy directly refers to the Republic of Macedonia.
„The key priority for the Republic of Macedonia is an undisturbed Euro-integrative Process”- underlined Mr. Pop Arsov.
The Chair of the National European Integration Council, Ms. Radmila Shekerinska Jankovska, the Chair of the Foreign Policy Committee, Ms. Teuta Arifi, the Chair of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Mr. Alksandar Spasenovski, the MPs Igor Ivanovski, Flora Kadriu, Tito Petkovski and Pavle Trajanov, as well as Mr. Aleksandar Krzalovski, Representative of the National European Integration Council addressed on the Meeting.
At the end of the meeting, Mr. Pop Arsov expressed hope that the Republic of Macedonia and Hungary will have fruitful cooperation on parliamentary level, as it was the case with the previous presidencies and expressed gratitude to the Ambassador Mr. Fouere for his overall engagement in the past years and cooperation with the Committee on European Issues and the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia in general.