“Joining Europe does not mean leaving the region, but brining Europe closer to it,” First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić said at the ministerial meeting of the SEECP held today in Ohrid. She called for Serbia and Macedonia to get the negotiations opening date at the European Council meeting end-June, as well as the date for Kosovo’s negotiations on the Stabilization and Association Agreement.
Pusić reiterated that the negotiating process was as important as the membership itself as it meant state institution building and stabilizing the region. “It also means building a political culture, as there are no first and second-class countries in the region, and self-respect is crucial as without it there is no respect for others,” Pusić said. She thanked her counterparts for overcoming the obstacles to this meeting, and advocated that Kosovo be admitted to the SEECP.
Apart from Pusić, the meeting was attended by Montenegrin Foreign Minister Igor Lukšić, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkić, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin, Kosovar Deputy Foreign Minister Selim Petriti, as guest of the host, Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ana Trišić Babić, Albanian Deputy Foreign Minister Edith Harxi, European Commissioner for Enlargement Štefan Füle and RCC Secretary General Goran Svilanović.
The motto of Macedonia’s SEECP presidency is “Solidarity at Work”, as this year marks the 50th anniversary of a devastating earthquake in Skopje.
In his opening address, Poposki underlined the importance of this regional process that is assisting the countries of Southeast Europe along their path to EU membership and called for continuing the enlargement and meeting the recommendations from the 2012 Macedonia Progress Report.
The new Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin expressed support for the strengthening of the parliamentary component of SEECP, calling for continued enlargement as reform contribute to the stability of the region.
Montenegrin Foreign Minister Lukšić talked about strengthening the ties between the six countries of the Western Balkans on the European path. “Significant progress has been achieved in the European process, but there are many challenges ahead,” Serbian Foreign Minister said, adding that Serbia was firmly committed to the EU membership. He informed the present parties about the current status of normalization process between Belgrade and Pristina.
“The EU wants Kosovo and Serbia to succeed”, Füle said in regard to the historic agreement. “We are counting on Croatia to continue sharing its experience and know-how with the countries in the region and to maintain its active role in regional processes,” he said, congratulating on yesterday’s consensus for holding this meeting. He also recalled the European prospect of and current situation in each of the Southeast European countries, while RCC Secretary General Svilanović stressed the importance of regional cooperation.
A declaration is set to be adopted at the end of the meeting.
Pusić will hold bilateral talks at the margins and sign with her Macedonian counterpart Poposki the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Agreement.