Thursday, 24 October 2019, Strasbourg
MESSAGES OF STRONG SUPPORT FROM THE MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT FOR THE EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE OF THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA
In addition to attending the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament held in Strasbourg, the President of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, Talat Xhaferi, had meetings with MEPs who are in France this week for a plenary session.
Namely, he met with the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament, Mr. David McAllister, the Co-Chair of the EU-North Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee, Mr. Andreas Schieder, the Rapporteur from North Macedonia, Mr. Ilhan Kyuchyuk and with the so-called shadow rapporteur, Ms Tanya Fajon.
During the meetings it was emphasized that the European Parliament had no doubts that a date should be set for the start of negotiations and that if the decision depended solely on Parliament, the Republic of North Macedonia would have started negotiations long ago. MEPs underlined that the strong support for the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia would continue in the future, and cooperation in the form of the Joint Parliamentary Committee and the Jean Monnet Dialogue would continue on a regular basis.
The Chair of the Committee on Foreign Policy, Mr. David McAllister stressed that for the European Parliament, the Republic of North Macedonia remains a priority, and there is widespread support despite the Council's unfair decision. The mistake made cannot be rectified, but will not be allowed to be repeated in the future.
President Xhaferi was also invited to attend a debate in the European Parliament on a resolution to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania.
The resolution tabled by lawmakers from the six largest political groups in the European Parliament expresses deep disappointment at the failure of the European Council to make a decision to start membership negotiations with North Macedonia over what it says are blockades by France, Denmark and the Netherlands.
The resolution, inter alia, in response to the European Council's blockade, calls on the European Parliament to convene a regional parliamentary dialogue with Western Balkan Parliament Speakers in order to develop a strategy for the role of parliaments in the reforms of the European agenda and achieve concrete measures to fulfill the European aspirations of the citizens in the region.