Distinguished participants,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

As President of the Republic of Macedonia, it is truly an honor to wish you a warm welcome to my homeland. Tonight, we are gathered in the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle, not because we consider the past to be a place of residence, but rather - a place of reference. And we refer to it in order to draw some lessons and guidelines for the future.

When I declared this Museum open five years ago, I personally placed the key documents of our statehood in these premises. One of those documents is the Declaration for Sovereignty and Independence of the Republic of Macedonia. This Declaration was adopted by the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia on September 17, 1991, a fortnight after the referendum on which Macedonian citizens expressed their will for independence and sovereignty. This Declaration is a testimony of one thing. Namely, that in the dawn of its independence, the Republic of Macedonia accepted all the rights and responsibilities stemming from the principles of international relations, contained in the documents of the United Nations, in the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter.

25 years have passed since then. It took the OSCE almost four long years to accept the reality of Macedonian statehood and to respond positively to our application for membership.

However, although unjustly blocked, we did not renounce the OSCE because we believed deeply in the righteousness of the principles of democracy, human rights and freedoms, the right to human dignity, respect of international law and rule of law as preconditions to good governance. We did not give up, because we believed in the OSCE. That trust and persistence paid off. The input and engagement of OSCE in Macedonia have been significant. It helped is achieve many European standards, criteria and values. Thanks to all of that, today, instead of a beneficiary as it used to be, my country has become an active contributor to the goals of the Organization. This, through both the Macedonian model of coexistence and respect of diversity, and good neighborly relations.

Dear participants,

Today we have a new reality in the world. Europe, among other things, is facing a double challenge. On one hand, millions of migrants are in pursuit of a dignified life in the most developed European countries. On the other, foreign terrorist fighters are taking advantage of the European spirit of openness in order to sow the seed of hatred and destruction.

This double challenge unveiled the impotence of administration and diplomacy as primary mechanisms of democratic states. Many global and regional international organizations did not manage to build functioning decision making mechanisms in conditions of crisis. Unfortunately, OSCE was no exception. Its early warning mechanisms failed.

At the same time, in our region of Southeast Europe, we see some retrograde processes reemerging and bringing into question the cooperation that was so painstakingly built throughout these past decades.

Each of the countries in the region is facing challenges, including the Republic of Macedonia. The blockade of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the Republic of Macedonia became one of the main reasons for the permanent political crisis that culminated this year. With this, the consequences of the blockades became reasons for new blockades. I believe that early parliamentary elections might be an exit strategy for this crisis, but only if after the elections, the integration process is unblocked. Only by opening the European perspective for Macedonian citizens will we be able to come out of the vicious cycle of political crises and mistrust.

This is exactly why we are not renouncing the OSCE – because we believe that it can provide part of the response to this challenge.

However, in order to do it, us Member States, we must also contribute to the transformation of our organization. We must help the OSCE to find its rightful place in this cruel 21st century. It is necessary for OSCE to adapt to changes in order to be able to face challenges. This can be done with less declarations and more concrete initiatives and solutions based on the real needs of the citizens of our countries. Those are namely the needs for freedom, democracy and economic development. However, in order to achieve this, we need security and cooperation.

With this thought, in conclusion, I wish to see the results of the work of this 15th Autumn Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly becoming part of the process of necessary transformation that will help us achieve one thing; To set the bases for a true multiethnic, multireligious and multilingual European society together - a society that will be free, fair, stable and secure.

Thank you.