Skopje, 25 November 2022 (MIA) – Deputy Prime Minister for European affairs Bojan Marichikj met Friday with a delegation from the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia, led by the Chamber’s President Branko Azeski. At the meeting they spoke about strengthening cooperation in the EU integration process and the participation of the business sector in the negotiations process. According to a press release from the Economic Chamber, Azeski stressed that the Chamber plays a crucial role in EU negotiations, since the transposition of the regulations and the undertaken obligations will have to be implemented by businesses. He stated that a departisation of the institutions is necessary, and pointed to the State Statistical Office as an example, which, he said, plays a key role in the assessment of the actual parameters in the country. At the same time, Azeski stressed that the business community expects the country to adapt to EU regulations according to an established timeline and not to undertake any obligations that will have financial implications for businesses, if they are not necessary, i.e., if they can be postponed for a period of time. According to the Chamber, Deputy PM Marichikj, who is also the country’s chief EU negotiator, said that a public debate on the economic chapters and clusters will be held in December, and that the analyses and feedback from the business community will be of great value for the country. “In order to fulfill the obligations as best as possible, in the upcoming period we will be preparing to include business representatives in the working groups on the chapters concerning free movement, trademarks, industry, market liberalization in certain areas (such as the railways, the post office) and the state aid system. The Chamber will support the entire negotiations process with the appropriate analyses and consultations,” said the Chamber in a press release. At the meeting it was concluded that the role of the chambers in the EU negotiations, especially of the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia as the most influential business community, is of great importance, because they have key relations with the companies and will ensure the transparency of the process. ad/ba/