LI President regrets Macedonian exclusion
The President of Liberal International, Lord Alderdice, has welcomed the
invitation to Albania and Croatia to join NATO, but says that he very much
regrets the obstructions put in the way of Macedonian membership by the
Greek veto.
Lord Alderdice said:
'It is very good news that NATO continues its 'open door' policy of
embracing European states that are committed to developing their societies
on the principles of liberal democracy. I welcome the invitations to
Albania and Croatia, and I hope that the prospects for Georgia and Ukraine
continue to be positive. I am however most disappointed that Greece has
used its veto to obstruct the NATO invitation to Macedonia. This cannot be
in the best interests of Greece and her people. It runs counter to the
spirit of these transnational families and I fear that the rest of Europe
and our allies are becoming increasingly frustrated by what is seen as
unjustified obstructionism.
People are complaining that once inside the EU and NATO, Greece has used its
membership to obstruct expansion of the Union and the Treaty Organization,
not on the basis of democratic or security objections, nor even national
interest, but of the kind of historic enmities we have all been working to
overcome in Europe. Such a perception does not serve the best interests of
our Greek friends, and I trust that the Greek Government will find a way of
resolving the increasing impasse these historic enmities are creating.'
