OSCE urged to support further European integration efforts of former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

VIENNA, 5 February 2004 - In her speech to the OSCE's Permanent Council, the Foreign Affairs Minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ilinka Mitreva, praised the work of the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission in helping to transform the country's security situation since her last appearance at the Hofburg in 2001.

She followed her praise by urging the 55-nation body to "recognize and support" the country's arguments for closer integration in the European Union and NATO, as it tackled its new priority of providing social security and economic prosperity for all its citizens.

"I am deeply convinced that the OSCE, with its co-operative and multi-dimensional approach to security, remains a relevant, and above all, a valuable organization, not only for the countries hosting the OSCE missions, but for all of us in the OSCE area as well", said the Minister.

The Minister briefly recalled the reaction of the international organizations - the OSCE, the EU and NATO prominent among them - to the crisis in 2001: "The OSCE, through its Mission, played a vital role in police deployment in the former crisis areas and we especially appreciate the engagement of its monitors in confidence-building among the people in these areas."

She also praised OSCE Mission activities, mandated under the Ohrid Framework Agreement which consolidated the end of the crisis, in the field of police training, with 1,000 new police officers since integrated into the country's police force, and the developing of the concept of community-policing and other modernization measures.

The Mission's activities were already agreed for the current year, including projects related to the further implementation of the Ohrid Agreement. Consideration of the future size, profile and focus of the Mission would remain to be considered in programme outline for 2005.

"In the present security architecture and network of international organizations, the OSCE remains a relevant partner and an important ally of the EU and NATO. Although the nature of these organizations is different, the basic postulates and principles of the OSCE and of the EU and NATO are complementary", Minister Mitreva said.

Hence, close co-operation was a pre-condition for the efforts to find the right answer to address new security challenges and threats.

"Today in the Republic of Macedonia, the issue of security has been replaced with another priority: providing security and economic prosperity for all our citizens. The Government elected in 2002 has also successfully addressed comprehensive reforms which have brought us closer to our main strategic goals - integration in the EU and NATO", she said.

The Minister went on to describe the comprehensive reforms already completed, including the equitable representation of the country's communities in state institutions and in the use of languages. These reforms had reached an important final stage with the current implementation of decentralization laws and the incorporation of European standards into the legislation on police structures and the work on integrated border management - which will be discussed later this month at a workshop in Vienna on 19 and 20 February.

"There is a new spirit of co-operation in the region of South-East Europe. In addition to exemplary bilateral co-operation, we actively co-operate in numerous regional initiatives, as well as in the process of Euro-Atlantic integration", she said.

"We expect a strong political signal at the NATO Istanbul Summit, that by 2006, the Republic of Macedonia will receive an invitation to join the Alliance."

With regard to the EU, the Minster recalled that during the first political forum the EU and the Western Balkans at the ministerial level in December last year, she had officially announced the decision of the Government to submit the application for EU membership by the end of February 2004.

"The Republic of Macedonia has been building the partnership with the EU since the signing of the Co-operation Agreement in 1996. In 2001, Macedonia was the first country in the region to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement The completed ratification of the SAA by the parliaments of all EU member countries is an extremely important event for the Republic of Macedonia and it testifies to the undivided political support of the citizens of these countries for the European aspirations of the Republic of Macedonia.

"We believe that the positive EU signals with regard to the candidacy would be a powerful integrating factor for the country, which would mobilize all domestic potentials for further intensification of comprehensive social reform and transformation. Furthermore, it would encourage foreign investment.

"I am confident that this distinguished forum will recognize and support the arguments presented in favour of the European cause of the Republic of Macedonia," she concluded.