Skopje, 28 February 2023 (MIA) – Our cooperation with North Macedonia in terms of education through ERASMUS makes us treat the country as a member of the EU already, Director-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission, Themis Christophidou, told Deputy PM of Economic Affairs Fatmir Bytyqi in Brussels on Tuesday.

Bytyqi accentuated the need to improve the educational capacities where there is room for this, adding that North Macedonia needs its citizens, who are capable of working but are registered as unemployed, to get additional qualifications so they are competitive on the labor market, the Deputy PM's Office said in a press release.

Director-General Christophidou said that additional qualification is part of ERASMUS which can benefit North Macedonia greatly, and if 2022 was the year of the youth, 2023 is the Year of Qualifications, adding that ERASMUS is an extensive program that also covers education.

Bytyqi and Christophidou also discussed the importance of digital inclusion, which will take close cooperation between North Macedonia and EU, in order to achieve education equality.

Interlocutors also tackled cultural heritage, with the Director-General saying that a delegation of the EC Directorate will visit North Macedonia in June, which will be a good opportunity to see first-hand the developments in the sphere of cultural heritage.

Deputy PM Bytyqi is taking part at the bilateral meeting for Cluster 2 - Internal Market, Chapter 9 - Financial Services and Chapter 28 - Consumer and Health Protection. dk/ik/