Tuesday, 9 April 2013
THE POLITICAL PARTIES SHOULD FOCUS ON THE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION OF THE COUNTRY
At the 14th meeting of the National Council for European Integration, the European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Mr. Stefan Fule addressed the members of the Council, the European Affairs and the Foreign Policy Committees, and the members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee EU-Republic of Macedonia. Mr. Fatmir Besimi - Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European integration, Mr. Stefano Sannino - Drector General for Enlargement at the European Commission, Mr. Aivo Orav - Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Macedonia, and Mr. Andrej Lepavcev - Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia to the European Union, also attended the meeting.
Welcoming the European Commissioner, the Chairperson of the Council Ms. Radmila Sekerinska expressed appreciation for his decisive engagement to overcome the political crisis after the events on 24 December in the Assembly.
Commissioner Fule pointed out that the Republic of Macedonia has shown commitment to the High-Level Accession Dialogue, and praised the progress achieved and the measures undertaken in certain areas, despite the events from 24 December.
The High-Level Accession Dialogue has served as a catalyst for accelerating reforms and has contributed to substantial progress in the five key areas, said Mr. Fule, emphasizing the progress regarding the rule of law, the improved efficiency of the judicial system and the reform of the public administration.
Concerning the freedom of expression and the media, he pointed out that it is of crucial importance to continue the dialogue with the journalists and to include them in the reforms in this field in a transparent and open manner.
Regarding the economy, the Government has met all its obligations towards the companies and Commissioner Fule welcomed the adoption of the action plan on youth employment.
The European Commissioner assessed the local elections as well organized and competitive. He urged the future mayors to build bonds and confidence among all citizens and to represent their interests equally, regardless of their ethnic belonging.
Due to the fact that these are crucial moments for Macedonia on the eve of the report that will be presented next week, all the political parties should focus on the European integration.
However, it is very important to establish the inquiry committee that will examine the events of 24 December as soon as possible, and that all parties sign a memorandum on commitment to the Euro-integration processes.
The Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European integration Mr. Besimi pointed out that the integration in the EU is the best and only alternative if we want to have a stable, peaceful, and prosperous country.
The parliamentarians Ms. Silvana Boneva, Mr. Antonijo Milososki, Mr. Igor Ivanovski, Mr. Hajrula Misini, Mr. Gordan Georgiev, Mr. Vladimir Gjorcev, as well as Mr. Naser Selmani - President of the Association of Journalists of Macedonia, Ms. Tanja Hafner-Ademi from the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation and Mr. Zivko Mitrevski from the Association of Unions of Macedonia, participated in the debate.