Skopje, 21 May 2010 (MIA) – Parliament adopted several documents, which oblige the Government to continue the negotiations with Greece under the auspices of the United Nations. These documents clearly state that the solution for this issue must not interfere with the national, linguistic and cultural identity of the Macedonian nation.
The respect and protection of the national, linguistic and cultural identity of every individual is one of the basic principles of the Council of Europe.
Parliament Speaker Trajko Veljanovski sent this message at the session of the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which takes place Friday at the Macedonian Parliament.
In his welcoming address Veljanovski said that the focus of the Macedonian Parliament is approach or harmonization with the Acquis Communautaire, and the second goal is strengthening parliamentary democracy.
- The Republic of Macedonia is a unitary state, and at the same time it is a multinational, multicultural and multiconfessional society. We have adopted the amendments deriving from the Ohrid Agreement, and all this was very clearly underlined in the last Progress Report from the European Commission, in which we have received a recommendation for our membership in the European Union, Veljanovski said.
In this direction we are paying significant attention to the strengthening of the scrutiny role of the Assembly regarding the implementation of the laws, which are being adopted, and certainly the control function over the executive, which is our constitutional competence, Veljanovski said.
Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Friday is holding a session at the Macedonian Parliament. The session has been opened by the Mevlüt Çavusoglu, President of the PACE, who expressed full support to Macedonian Chairmanship and its priorities.
FM Antonio Milososki, who chairs the Committee of the Council of Europe presenting the activities of the Macedonian Chairmanship, said that they are connected with national needs, but they follow the interests of the region and of the Council of Europe.
The Macedonian Chairmanship will also be especially focused on strengthening the cooperation with other international organizations, especially with the EU, OSCE, and the UN, FM Milososki said.
- Our determination to further promote good neighbourliness and to contribute to the European development of our Region is stronger than ever.
Today's agenda includes issues connected with next session of the Parliamentary Assembly which is to take place from 21 to 25 June, several reports and documents on human rights, legal, political and economic issues and development, environment, agriculture and issues for the regions and equal opportunities among women and men.
Next meeting of the Standing Committee will be held on November in Turkey.
In the frameworks of the Macedonian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), Macedonian Parliament Thursday hosted the meetings of the Presidential Committee and the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), attended by MPs of 47 member states.
