Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Mr. Juncker, thank you for inviting us as a region to be part of the solution to the migrant crisis. This crisis is affecting all parties. It equally concerns the countries of origin, the countries of transit and the countries of destination of the migrants.As President of the Republic of Macedonia, I will take this opportunity to speak about the challenges that my country and my region are facing.

These are not challenges only for the European Union, but for Europe as a continent. We suffer the consequences of the migrant crisis without enjoying the benefits from the membership in the Union.

Refugees reminded us of the key corridor between the Middle East and Europe.Had the Union integrated this region in time, today the Schengen borders would have been protected and the responsibility of the countries shared. Had we been part of the security system of the Union and NATO, and had we been granted access to all databases, then we would not have been taken aback by this crisis.

Instead, there is a serious danger for this Balkan corridor to become a labyrinth in which migrants and refugees will be stuck, but also the candidate countries for membership in the Union. Now both states and migrants are suffering the consequences of these errors.

According to the latest information we have, the corridor opened by refugees from Syria and Iraq is now also being used by economic migrqnts from Africa and Asia. Instead of seeing the number of migrants drop with he coming of winter, it keeps on increasing. Moreover, the portion of refugees from Syria and Iraq is reducing, and the portion of migrants from Asia and Africa is increasing. We can submit the statistics on this. As I said, the winter did not reduce the number of refugees, on the contrary! The number of refugees and migrants arriving at our southern border, the border between Macedonia and the EU (Schengen to be more precise) is breaking every record recently, with over 10 thousand people on some days. I had the possibility to witness this myself three days ago when I visited the crisis area and personally talked to the migrants.

We are thankful to Germany for not allowing the full closure of the Balkan migrant corridor. Madam Merkel was right to underline that the eventual closure of the corridor by Germany might lead to a collapse of societies and states in Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It helped us last until now.

On 19 August 2015 the Government of the Republic of Macedonia adopted a decision declaring a State of Crisis for a duration of 30 days at the southern and northern state border due to the mass illegal entry of foreign citizens from the territory of EU and NATO.

In the interest of the national security of the Republic of Macedonia, and in terms of the security threats and risks arising from illegal migration from the territory of EU and NATO, we give the following comments:

1. We need permanent exchange of information with the institutions of the EU and NATO, as well as EU member-states and the candidate countries.
Establishing a unified, standardized and integrated system of information, based on collecting biometric data of the migrants and refugees, among all of the states on the so called Balkan route, with the EU and Schengen member states.

2. Especially, concerning Greece, we need to establish cooperation and communication between Macedonian and Greek police and intelligence services of the threats facing the region. The draft declaration adopted by both Macedonia and Greece states that "immediate border-related confidence-building measures should be implemented between Greece and Macedonia". Instead, we would like to see full cooperation at all levels within the law enforcement and intelligence services between Greece and Macedonia. We have to establish joint operational and rapid intervention teams, as well as permanent liaison officers both in Skopje and in Athens.

3. Furthermore, full access to databases of EU agencies for all non-EU member Balkan states should be provided.

4. Next, deployment of EU forces in non-EU area in Balkan region to secure the land migrant corridor from the "source" territory to "end territory". If the EU has already established the MARE NOSTRUM operation in the non-EU area ofthe Meditteranean – Lybian territorial waters - than why shouldn't the EU forces be deployed in the Balkan area.

5. Regarding the "hotspot" approach, daily operational coordination is needed between all non-EU Balkan states and other EU countries involved in the "Hotspot" strategy.

6. Support for Turkey, according to the recently proposed Action Plan of the EU.

In the coming period, Macedonia will act to protect its national security. Any solution that involves housing migrants in non-EU Balkan states will not be sustainable, as these countries do not have capacity or resources to deal with the expected volume of migrants. State instability would be highly likely in such a case. Also, refugee camps cannot be established in the non-EU Balkan states. Refugees and migrants can be facilitated in the safe zones and in the initial reception centers, in order to offer safety, security and humanitarian assistance for them.

As for the promised EU assistance and solidarity, I have to state that so far, Macedonia has been left alone to deal with the crisis using its own resources (financial, technical and human). We are grateful for the announced financial and technical assistance, but we have not received anything substantial from the EU to date.

Without being misunderstood that I am taking advantage of this address, I wish to send the following message:The immediate integration of the Republic of Macedonia and the entire Balkans in the security system of the European Union and NATO is indispensable. Immediate integration in the Schengen and Frontex systems is indispensable. However, access to the Schengen and Frontex cannot be a substitute to membership in the Union.

What is necessary is a full integration of the region in the European Union, because European security cannot be complete without the Balkan states.

Thank you.