President of the Republic at 15th Meeting of the Central European Presidents

Ohrid, 3.5.2008  |  press release

President of the Republic, Dr Danilo Türk, attended the 15th Meeting of the Central European Presidents held in Ohrid, Macedonia, yesterday and today. Besides the President of Slovenia, the meeting was attended by the presidents of Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Serbia and Turkey.

Yesterday the Central European Presidents cooperated at the first plenary session on the topic “Together into the Future. Challenges of the EU Enlargement”. President of the Republic, Dr Danilo Türk, was the first speaker at the session. In his speech he stressed the importance of the synergic effects of the European Union, which are the focus of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU. Among the principal tasks of the Presidency and the entire European Union in the future, he pointed out the efforts for the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, the activities of the European Union in the field of combating global warming and climate change, consolidation of human rights and further enlargement of the European Union.

The European Union develops as a global factor and needs enlargement for its further development. None of the European Union candidate countries may be denied the membership solely on the grounds of political circumstances or cultural prejudice, stressed the President of the Republic, Dr Danilo Türk, and added that each of the candidate countries must meet all necessary criteria for the membership. He supported also the continued negotiations between Macedonia and Greece as regards the official name of Macedonia, and expressed hope that the countries would find the solution reflecting a just and reasonable compromise.

At today’s second plenary session, the participants at the meeting discussed the topic “Integration and Possibilities for Stronger and More Competitive Economy. Energy Perspectives and Challenges”.

The two-day meeting of the Central European Presidents was concluded by the adoption of a declaration stressing the need to integrate the Western Balkan countries in Euro-Atlantic associations, and the importance of cooperation of the Central European countries in the field of economy and energy.