SPEECH BY MR MEVLÜT ÇAVUŞOĞLU, PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE, FOR ANTONIO MILOŠOSKI, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF “THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA”

(STRASBOURG, MONDAY 4 OCTOBER 2010, 4.00 P.M.)

Dear Chairman,

I have great pleasure in welcoming you again to this Chamber for our usual exchange of views on the activities of the Committee of Ministers.

Now that your country’s chairmanship is entering into its final stage, I feel that the time is ripe to congratulate you on it being so fruitful and successful.

I wish to thank you in particular for hosting two important Assembly events, the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly last May and a meeting of our Migration Committee. I also had the honour of participating in the CoE 2010 Exchange of the Religious Dimension of the Intercultural Dialogue which took place in Ohrid in September. There is also another major event in the pipeline - the launching of the Council of Europe Action Plan on Social Cohesion.

Dear Chairman, the Council of Europe is facing the major task of reforming itself in order to face the challenges of our modern societies. Such a reform process would be impossible without very close cooperation between all the sectors of the Organisation. The two statutory organs, the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly, should be the leaders, and the role model. In this respect, as I mentioned at the opening of this part-session, we have been a perfect tandem.

Your chairmanship coincides with the 15th Anniversary of your country's accession to the Council of Europe and is good evidence of the progress your country has made in that time and of its capacity to lead a major European Institution. I am confident that my own country, Turkey, will take over the chairmanship from good and reliable hands.

Dear Chairman, you have the floor.