The President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova addressed the Summit of heads of states and governments of the participants in the South-East European Cooperation Process which took place today in Skopje, as part of the final activity within the frames of the Macedonian presidency with the Process under the motto “Bridging Divides, Building Trust.
In her speech President Siljanovska Davkova said that in the past 28 years the Process has assisted the participants to close some open issues, to build mutual trust and to cooperate with the purpose of achieving the common goal – for the whole South-East Europe to stand under one flag – the flag of the European Union.
These shared commitments, according to President Siljanovska Davkova, have yielded concrete results. Some of the participants became full-fledged members, other have started membership negotiations, while third became candidates or have submitted their membership applications.
Furthermore, President Siljanovska Davkova said that despite the undisputed achievements made so far, we are witnessing a slowdown in the regional cooperation, especially in the past years, due to the stagnation in the European integration, insufficient infrastructural and energy connectivity, demographic aging and mass migration of the youth.
All this, said the President, climaxed with the Russian aggression against Ukraine which threatens the peace and stability, but also the human and energy security and food security.
“It is our common responsibility to contribute towards preserving the peace in Europe by building democratic, secure and prosperous continents”, underscored President Siljanovska Davkova.
According to the President, trust is built by renouncing the double standards and complying with the law and justice, the principles of the international law, as well as non-interference in the internal affairs of the countries.
“In the context of European integration, this means that the participants in the Process, from this region, must insist on the Copenhagen criteria as the single precondition for EU membership. The veto is contrary not only to EU’s logic, but to the prosperity of the whole region, as well. Instead of blocking each other, we must behave in a Scandinavian manner, we must cooperate and support each other”, said President Siljanovska Davkova.
With regards to the European reforms, according to the President, the region does not need bear rhetoric, but consistent EU-logic.
“In other words, we need democratic political culture, rule of law and functional legal state, human rights and fundamental freedoms, professional and competent administration, and competitive economy. The best, most efficient method for implementing these European benefits, are the membership negotiations”, underlined the President. “But for the regional cooperation to be more efficient, we must continue building regional synergy between the processes, such as the Berlin Process, the Regional Cooperation Council, and the Brdo-Brioni Process”.
“I expect, no matter the post-election constellation in the European Union, that the enlargement shall remain high on the agenda of the future European Commission. This is important since the enlargement is a geo-strategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity”, said President Siljanovska Davkova.
