At the invitation of the Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Predrag Markovic, a delegation of the Sobranie (Parliament) of the Republic of Macedonia, headed by its speaker, Ljupcho Jordanovski, is paying a return visit to Serbia and Montenegro on 28 and 29 October 2005.
Mr Markovic today met the Macedonian delegation at the National Assembly, and, in talks with Mr Jordanovski, expressed his hope that the Republic of Macedonia would be granted status of candidate for EU membership as early as 9 November. The two parliamentary heads agreed that there were no problems between Serbia and Macedonia, but rather only issues that needed resolving, and added that the friendly relations between the two countries were a guarantee that these issues would indeed be solved. It was also underlined that both parliaments had fulfilled promises given in Skoplje in March, and that they would continue co-operating at all levels of parliamentary activities, with the fundamental aim of ensuring political stability and regional co-operation as preconditions for both countries’ integration into the EU. The meeting agreed future practical steps for further co-operation, especially at the level of European integration committees. Mr Markovic underlined that Serbia was insistent on recognising and honouring the Macedonian state, nation and language, but that it also expected Macedonia to continue insisting on the inviolability of frontiers, democratisation, and institutional capacity-building in the region. The parliaments of Serbia and Macedonia would do everything in their power to strengthen bilateral co-operation and bring it into line with European standards. Both Serbia and Macedonia wished to build better and more efficient ways of co-operation, especially economic co-operation. Mr Markovic and Mr Jordanovski concluded that the talks were friendly, since co-operation and respect were eternal, while problems pass.
The meeting between the Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the Speaker of the Sobranie of the Republic of Macedonia was attended by Ksenija Milivojevic, chairperson of the European Integrations Committee, Gordana Comic, chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Jovo Radeski, chairman of the National Council of the Macedonian Ethnic Community, on behalf of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia; the Macedonian delegation was made up of Petar Apostolov, chairman of the Sobranie’s Parliamentary Group for Co-operation with Serbia and Montenegro, Ivan Stojiljkovic, member of the Sobranie’s Parliamentary Group for Co-operation with Serbia and Montenegro, and Emil Krsteski, foreign policy advisor to the Office of the Speaker of the Sobranie of the Republic of Macedonia.