22 March 2006

Visit by Prime Minister Buckovski Opinion 22 March 2006 Press point by NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the Prime Minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1), Vlado Buckovski Multimedia High resolution photos of the meeting of the North Atlantic Council High resolution photos of the bilateral meeting High resolution photos of the press point Audio file of the press point (.MP3/9.309kb) The Prime Minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1), Vlado Buckovski, visited NATO Headquarters on 22 March. He briefed NATO ambassadors on progress in his country’s reform process in the context of its participation in the Membership Action Plan and also spoke about regional developments in the Western Balkans. He then had a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Speaking to the press afterwards, the Secretary General said that the Allies welcomed the progress that had been made on reforms and he commended the prime minister and his government for their efforts. But he also said that more needed to be done in areas such as police reform, equal representation of ethnic groups, and judicial and legal reform. He emphasised that the key issue is one of implementation, not just of passing laws. He also stressed that an important “litmus test” in the whole reform process would be to ensure that the upcoming elections are “110 per cent” free and fair. Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.