Tom Hayes
Question:47 Mr. Hayes asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the situation in Macedonia and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10042/04]
View answerWednesday, 31 March 2004
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The Prime Minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Branko Crvenkovski, led a high level political delegation which visited Dublin on 22 March for the presentation of the country's application for membership of the European Union. The Taoiseach accepted the application in his capacity as President of the European Council. The Government welcomes the Macedonian application and especially the presence on this occasion of a delegation which was so clearly representative of the two main communities in the country and of the cross-party support for the development of closer relations with the EU. The Taoiseach confirmed to Prime Minister Crvenkovski that the next step will be the consideration of the application by the Council of Ministers. The Council is likely to request the European Commission to prepare a formal opinion, in line with the practice adopted for the application submitted by Croatia in February 2003.
Deputies will be aware that Prime Minister Crvenkovski had to cut short his earlier visit to Dublin, on 26 February, because of the tragic death of President Boris Trajkovski in a plane crash in Bosnia. The Government has conveyed condolences on this tragic loss. I would like to pay tribute to the enormous contribution which the late President made to peace, stability and reconciliation in his country, and throughout the region of the western Balkans. He was committed to his country's European future and it was one of his last official acts to sign the application for EU membership. Presidential elections will now be held on 14 April.
The EU has worked closely with the authorities in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to consolidate peace and stability following the conflict of 2001. That conflict was brought to an end by the Ohrid Framework agreement, brokered by the EU. Its objective is the creation of a truly multi-ethnic Macedonia. It provides for a series of constitutional amendments to safeguard minority rights, strengthen local government and secure equitable representation for the two main ethnic communities at all levels in the state administration. Important progress has been made over the past year. A census has been conducted successfully, and its results released. A dozen more laws required under the agreement have been adopted. Key draft laws on decentralisation are currently before Parliament. The main political challenges in the period ahead will be to ensure effective progress on the difficult but essential issues of decentralisation and equitable representation.
The EU continues to play a central role in support of the reform process in the country, politically, economically and in terms of security. This close co-operation is being maintained during Ireland's Presidency of the EU. The Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will formally enter into force on 1 April, the first of these agreements with the countries of the region to do so. In co-operation with the Macedonian Government, the EU is helping to address the continuing security challenges in the country, through the EU police mission, Proxima, which has been in place since 15 December 2003.
The EU-Western Balkans summit in Thessaloniki last June agreed that the future of the countries of the region lies in their eventual integration in to EU structures. Progress towards this goal will be made through implementation of the detailed and wide-ranging reforms required under the EU's Stabilisation and Association Process. The Macedonian application for membership of the EU is an important step for all the people of the country. The Taoiseach and Prime Minister Crvenkovski agreed last week that progress in the European integration process would be directly linked to continued progress on the full implementation of all aspects of the Ohrid Framework Agreement.
Question No. 48 answered with QuestionNo. 26.