OSCE Chairman and Mission to Skopje welcome European Union member candidate status

SKOPJE, 19 December 2005 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, and the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje welcomed the decision of the European Council to grant the host country candidate status for European Union membership.

"We congratulate the government and citizens for this great achievement," said the OSCE Chairman-in-Office.

"The decision acknowledges the significant progress during the last four years. At the same time, candidate status obligates the country to continue with necessary political and economic changes. The decision will have positive effect on the stabilization of the wider region. We expect the rest of the countries in the region to follow this example and make a step forward on their Euro-Atlantic path".

Ambassador Natalya Drozd, Acting Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, said: "Awarding candidate status for European Union membership is an important landmark on the historical roadmap of this country. The OSCE Mission stands ready to further support the Government in its continuing efforts to implement judicial, electoral and other reforms on its way to further progress".