OHRID, Macedonia – The Macedonian MARRI Presidency-In-Office (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior) and the MARRI Regional Centre Skopje organised the MARRI Regional Forum in Hotel Metropol, Ohrid on 28 and 29 May 2009.
The event was opened by Mr. Zoran Petrov, Macedonian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs on behalf of Ms. Gordana Jankuloska, Minister of Interior, and Mr. Jusuf Kalamperovic, Montenegrin Minister of Interior. The participants were high officials dealing with migration issues from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, representative of the Czech EU Presidency, international organisations/initiatives and foreign embassies in the Republic of Macedonia.
The MARRI Regional Forum provided an opportunity for MARRI Member States to discuss current and future activities of MARRI in the framework of regional cooperation and regional ownership. On this occasion, the Presidency of the Initiative was handed over from the Macedonian Presidency-In-Office to Montenegro. The participants have adopted the Joint Ohrid_Declaration and the Montenegrin Priorities of MARRI Presidency were also presented.
At sidelines of a Regional Forum, Montenegrin Interior Minister Jusuf Kalamperovic said that “for our own sake we must meet the standard the European Union has been requiring for membership status, while Europe on its part should be more courageous, trustful and embrace Western Balkan, thus contributing to resolving of its remained problems, of the Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative (MARRI).” Kalamperovic pointed out that problems with border management and refugees were still present in the region and should be resolved under an agreement of all MARRI members, which is exactly the purpose of the Ohrid Regional Forum, as one of the steps towards the EU-integration of Western Balkan countries.
Macedonian Deputy Foreign Minister Zoran Petrov emphasised the necessity for active cooperation of regional countries with the objective of reducing illegal migration and crime, which are the main obstacles of visa liberalisation.
The Czech EU Presidency representative to the Forum, Mr. Pavel Svitil, Head of Working Group for the EU Enlargement, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the good cooperation of the countries in the region was rather important for the EU membership of each of them. “The EU benchmarks for the visa liberalisation process are exactly the same priorities Macedonia, as holder of the MARRI Presidency, has set to the countries of the region – therefore Macedonia is rather significant for this regional initiative, as an activity for speeding up the EU-integration processes.” “The Czech Republic urges for free EU visa regime to be soon introduced in all Western Balkan countries,” Svitil said.