Distinguished President of the European Council Van Rompuy,
Vice Chancellor of the Austrian Government and Foreign Minister Spindelegger,
EU Commissioner Mr. Hahn,
Distinguished President of the International Paneuropean Union, Mr. Terrenoire,
Your Royal Highness, Karl von Habsburg Lothringen, President of the Austrian Paneuropean Movement,
Mr. Alois Mock, President of the European Society Coudenhove Kalergi,
Your Highness Prince Nikolaus von Liechtenstein, Vice-President of the European Society Coudenhove Kalergi,
Honorable members of the European and the Austrian Parliaments,
Excellencies,

At the very beginning, I wish to congratulate President Van Rompuy for the prestigious prize bearing the name of one of the greatest Europeans.

I am here today to speak on behalf of my country, the Republic of Macedonia, but also on behalf of the European countries whose dream, motivation and goal is to be part of the European Union.

Coming from a region that was first associated with Europe – the region of South East Europe, I can share with you my perception of the region’s destiny and future prospects. History has thought us that our region lived in peace and prosperity in times when it was part of an open space. Only when the region was isolated and divided within itself did it suffer decline, poverty and wars.

The last decade of the 20th century was a time of isolation and division. The first decade of 21st century was time of healing of the wounds. The second decade must be the decade that will bring the region into its rightful place within Europe. More than ever, we now need the European Union as a peace project. The very project for which the European Union received the Nobel Peace Prize this year. After Pax Romana, Pax Byzantina, Pax Ottomana, we need what I call Pax Europea.

Esteemed Excellencies,
Today we celebrate 90 years of a dream and a brave vision published under the title “Pan-Europe”. In it, Count Richard Coudenhowe Kalergi said that “There is but one radical way to a permanent and just solution of the European frontier question, and that is: not the alternation, but the abolition, of those frontiers.” I think this is one of the purposes for which the fathers of Europe envisioned the European Union. The one frontier that is still dividing Europe cuts right through the Balkans. But, we in the region hope this frontier will soon be diminished.

Croatia is in front of the gates of Europe. We are truly happy for Croatia's upcoming membership. Still, we must not forget the other countries of the region which are still stuck in Europe's waiting room. This October the European Commission recommended that Albania be granted EU candidate status. Bosnia and Herzegovina is preparing to submit its application for membership in the European Union, Montenegro begun its accession negotiations while Serbia is already a candidate state. Macedonia has been a candidate since 2005 and now eagerly waiting for a date to begin the negotiations. It is time to speed up the enlargement process and accept the countries of my region into their rightful home – Europe.

"If we succeed in uniting Europe, we will finally have world peace," Dr. Otto von Habsburg said in this very hall, on the eve of his 95th birthday. He is no longer with us, but he has left a crystal clear vision of what Europe should aim at. On the conference of the International Paneuropean Union held in Ohrid in 2007, he said: "In five years I will be 100 years old, and I want by then Macedonia to join the European Union". In few days we will mark the 100-year anniversary of his birth. Regrettably, his vow has not been fulfilled yet. Now, we have another window of opportunity to fulfill the wish and vision of this great European.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Few weeks ago, we received the 4th positive Progress Report on the Republic of Macedonia from the European Commission. The report emphasizes that my country fulfills the political criteria for membership in the European Union. In the report, the European Commission, for the 4th time in a row made recommendations to the European Council to open negotiations with my country for membership in the European Union.

I am very happy to be here with you today because this recommendation clearly echoes the numerous strong and unambiguous resolutions by the International Paneuropean Union in support of my country. On behalf of the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia and on my personal behalf I want to thank the International Paneuropean Union for its continuous support in this end.

Paneuropa has underlined the principle that all European states that meet the requirements for membership in the European Union in terms of democracy, the rule of law and the economy must be given the possibility to attain it; that each European country has the right to membership of the European Union. The acknowledgment of this principle is the prerequisite for a true and credible policy of European unification.

Dear friends,
This is my second visit to Austria in a week. Last Friday I took part at an international conference in Graz titled: "Leaving Europe's Waiting Room. Overcoming the Crisis of EU Enlargement in the Western Balkans." At the conference I posed the question: What does it mean and how does it feel to be in the waiting room of Europe. Unfortunately, it's a feeling shared by several European countries among which is my own, Macedonia. I also said that while there is talk about the tiredness of enlargement, there is also tiredness from waiting.

The political Copenhagen criteria for membership requires that candidate country has achieved stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, respect for and protection of minorities. So, one of the key political criteria is securing human rights. One of the fundamental human rights is the right to identity, the right to self-identification of any individual or group. The Republic of Macedonia is therefore obliged to protect the right of its citizens for self-identification. It has to respect and guarantee the identity and human dignity of its own citizens.

The problem arises when an additional condition is added to the criteria – the demand that my country agrees to change the identity of its own citizens. Clearly, we have a collision of the official criteria and the additional condition.

Otto von Habsburg revealed to us the secret of Europe – unity in diversity. We, the European nations aspiring to join the European Union, want to contribute to Europe's unity by adopting and applying the European values, criteria and standards. We want to contribute to Europe's diversity with our separate and distinct identities, cultures and languages, and to be respected for it. This is a value that implies the right of self-identification and fundamental human dignity.

The European Union, too, is based on the idea of unity in diversity. It is unconceivable, therefore, to accept and allow the denial of the existence of any part of its diversity.

Ladies and gentlemen,
"Europe is not merely a continent, it is also an idea. This idea is called liberty." Said Coudenhowe Kalergi in his Appeal to Europe. Following this statement we can argue that the greatest danged for Europe comes from the enemies of liberty. In the 20th century we saw the rise and fall of some of these enemies of Europe – Fascism, Nazism and Communism. Today we see the rise of intolerance, chauvinism, ethical and moral decay.

Today we witness how right Count Richard Kalergi was when he said: "Pan-Europe is impossible unless the minorities of every nation gain their rights. This must happen in order that every European, regardless of language, condition, race, nationality, or religion, can proudly assert, 'I am a free European.'"

I am Macedonian which means I am European. And as a Macedonian and European I want what is best for Macedonia and for Europe. Just as democracy needs democrats, Europe needs Europeans, European citizens. We are waiting for our citizenship. We, the nations in the waiting room of the European Union, are here to contribute with their full potential.

We owe this to the great men like Count Richard Coudenhowe-Kalergi and Otto von Habsburg. We owe it to ourselves. But, most of all, we owe it to our posterity.

Thank you.