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EC to reiterate recommendation for opening of Macedonia's accession talks
Brussels, 5 October 2012 (MIA) - The European Commission (EC) will once again recommend opening of Macedonia's accession talks, encouraging the Council of EU to act on this without further delay, reads a draft-report on the country's progress toward membership in 2012.
The draft, obtained by MIA's correspondent in Brussels, states that Macedonia was granted candidate status in 2005. "In 2009, the Commission assessed that the country sufficiently met the political criteria and recommended the opening of negotiations. This recommendation was reiterated by the Commission in 2010 and 2011 and now in 2012," reads a draft of the Enlargement Strategy, which includes summaries of the progress reports on Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, BiH, Kosovo, Turkey and Iceland.
"The Commission strongly believes that moving the accession process of this country to its next stage is necessary in order to consolidate the pace and sustainability of reforms, in particular as regards the rule of law as well as to strengthen inter-ethnic relations. The region was a whole would benefit," it is noted.
Moreover, the Commission acknowledges that the country continues to fulfil its commitments under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). "The Commission maintains its proposal to move to the second stage of the association and encourages the Council to act on this without further delay in line with the relevant provision of the SAA," according to the draft-document.
"The country continues to sufficiently meet the political criteria. The government has put the EU agenda at the centre of its activity. The High Level Accession Dialogue (HLAD) with the Commission served as a catalyst for accelerating reforms and has contributed to substantial progress in a number of key policy areas. The government has submitted proposals to the Parliament for improvement of the legislative framework for elections and, in the area of freedom of expression, for the decriminalisation of defamation. The first government review of the implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement provides a useful tool for strengthening inter-community dialogue," reads the draft-report.
The Commission urges the reform momentum to be sustained in all areas of the political criteria in particular to ensure implementation, whereas the rule of law, including as regards freedom of expression, needs to be strengthened.
"The roundtable process of dialogue between the government and the Association of Journalists should continue to be a useful forum for addressing key challenges relating to the media. Tension between communities following violent incidents in the first half of 2012 caused concern. The government responded with maturity to this challenge and needs to build on this to further strengthen inter-ethnic relations and reconciliation, also in light of the debate concerning the status of victims of the 2001 conflict," says the report.
The EC progress report on Macedonia also focuses on the name issue, elaborating that "it remains unresolved as we approach the 20th anniversary of the entry of FYROM into the United Nations. A dialogue under the auspices of the UN has been on-going since the 1990s and it is complemented since 2009 by bilateral contacts, including at Prime Ministerial level." However, it is emphasised, these processes have so far not yielded any results.
The judgement of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is also mentioned in the EC report.
"In December 2011, ICJ found that Greece had breached its Interim Accord with the country by objecting to its admission to NATO at the Bucharest Summit in 2008. Maintaining good neighbourly relations, including a negotiated and mutually acceptable solution to the name issue, under the auspices of the UN, remains essential. A solution needs to be found without further delay. Actions and statements which could negatively impact on good neighbourly relations should be avoided," concludes the draft-report.
The EC progress report on Macedonia will be officially presented on Wednesday in Brussels.
izvor: http://mia.mk/default.aspx?vId=97794558&lId=2&pmId=501
EC to reiterate recommendation for opening of Macedonia's accession talks
Brussels, 5 October 2012 (MIA) - The European Commission (EC) will once again recommend opening of Macedonia's accession talks, encouraging the Council of EU to act on this without further delay, reads a draft-report on the country's progress toward membership in 2012.
The draft, obtained by MIA's correspondent in Brussels, states that Macedonia was granted candidate status in 2005. "In 2009, the Commission assessed that the country sufficiently met the political criteria and recommended the opening of negotiations. This recommendation was reiterated by the Commission in 2010 and 2011 and now in 2012," reads a draft of the Enlargement Strategy, which includes summaries of the progress reports on Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, BiH, Kosovo, Turkey and Iceland.
"The Commission strongly believes that moving the accession process of this country to its next stage is necessary in order to consolidate the pace and sustainability of reforms, in particular as regards the rule of law as well as to strengthen inter-ethnic relations. The region was a whole would benefit," it is noted.
Moreover, the Commission acknowledges that the country continues to fulfil its commitments under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). "The Commission maintains its proposal to move to the second stage of the association and encourages the Council to act on this without further delay in line with the relevant provision of the SAA," according to the draft-document.
"The country continues to sufficiently meet the political criteria. The government has put the EU agenda at the centre of its activity. The High Level Accession Dialogue (HLAD) with the Commission served as a catalyst for accelerating reforms and has contributed to substantial progress in a number of key policy areas. The government has submitted proposals to the Parliament for improvement of the legislative framework for elections and, in the area of freedom of expression, for the decriminalisation of defamation. The first government review of the implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement provides a useful tool for strengthening inter-community dialogue," reads the draft-report.
The Commission urges the reform momentum to be sustained in all areas of the political criteria in particular to ensure implementation, whereas the rule of law, including as regards freedom of expression, needs to be strengthened.
"The roundtable process of dialogue between the government and the Association of Journalists should continue to be a useful forum for addressing key challenges relating to the media. Tension between communities following violent incidents in the first half of 2012 caused concern. The government responded with maturity to this challenge and needs to build on this to further strengthen inter-ethnic relations and reconciliation, also in light of the debate concerning the status of victims of the 2001 conflict," says the report.
The EC progress report on Macedonia also focuses on the name issue, elaborating that "it remains unresolved as we approach the 20th anniversary of the entry of FYROM into the United Nations. A dialogue under the auspices of the UN has been on-going since the 1990s and it is complemented since 2009 by bilateral contacts, including at Prime Ministerial level." However, it is emphasised, these processes have so far not yielded any results.
The judgement of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is also mentioned in the EC report.
"In December 2011, ICJ found that Greece had breached its Interim Accord with the country by objecting to its admission to NATO at the Bucharest Summit in 2008. Maintaining good neighbourly relations, including a negotiated and mutually acceptable solution to the name issue, under the auspices of the UN, remains essential. A solution needs to be found without further delay. Actions and statements which could negatively impact on good neighbourly relations should be avoided," concludes the draft-report.
The EC progress report on Macedonia will be officially presented on Wednesday in Brussels.
izvor: http://mia.mk/default.aspx?vId=97794558&lId=2&pmId=501
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