Agreement has been reached to overcome the political situation, restoring the EU agenda as top priority of the country, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, said after the meeting with the EU Enlargement Commissioner Mr. Stefan Fule, the European Parliament Rapporteur for Macedonia, Mr. Richard Howitt, the former President of the European Parliament, Mr. Jerzy Buzek, the President of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Nikola Gruevski and the President of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, Mr. Branko Crvenkovski.
"We have reached an agreement at the joint meeting we had with the government and the opposition in the presence of our friends and partners from the European Union. I have to express my satisfaction with the positive attitude of the leaders of the government and the opposition that finally enabled the European agenda to be restored as priority of the country. I want to express my appreciation for the participation of the EU representatives - the European Commission and the European Parliament, who have invested a lot of effort, and appreciation that Macedonia, in such moments, has friends who think of the future of Macedonia", President Ivanov said.
The points of the agreement on behalf of the European Union were presented by Mr. Howitt, who expressed gratitude to the leaders of the political parties and to President Ivanov for his commitment and efforts to achieve a mutually acceptable solution.
"We are pleased to see that the political leaders have finally demonstrated political responsibility and courage to agree on a solution that would bring the country back to the resumption of normal functioning of the institutions and will continue to work constructively towards the Euro-Atlantic integration, being the best interest of the country and its people. We are looking forward to a swift implementation of the agreement so that the country is back on the path to its Euro-Atlantic integration, that the reform process is intensified and the European Parliament and the European Commission are able to proceed with the preparation of the country's reports. This agreement gives hope; however, I believe it is not reached too late", Howitt said.
Pursuant to the agreement, the parties agree to resume normal political life, all parties to return to the Assembly and to participate in the scheduled local elections. In addition, the parties agree to support the immediate key reform measures, including:
- improving the functioning of parliament, including President's initiative to convene an ad hoc Commission of Inquiry (to look into, inter alia, the events on and before 24 December, including their constitutionality, security in and outside of Parliament, and revision of the parliamentary rules of procedure), the results of which would be reflected in the Commission's Progress Report in Autumn 2013.
- electoral reform, after the local elections, including in relation to the voters' registry (post-election audit of list) and other OSCE/ODIHR recommendations.
- freedom of expression, e.g. resumption of dialogue with journalists, led by the Association of Journalists, and other confidence-building measures.
Asked by a journalist whether the agreement involves an opportunity for early parliamentary elections, the Rapporteur for the Republic of Macedonia answered positively, without mentioning the time frame.
"To this question, whether the agreement involves early parliamentary elections, my answer is yes. The agreement includes this issue, but it is not prejudged. Representing the EP, I am authorized to give this interpretation on behalf of the EC, too. As regards the time frame, I will not answer that question and remain to what I have already said", the European Parliament Rapporteur for the Republic of Macedonia said.
The Austrian President expressed satisfaction with the opportunity to meet President Ivanov again and stressed that the frequent meetings speak enough of the relations between the two countries.
