Skopje, 13 October 2022 (MIA) – EU Ambassador to North Macedonia, David Geer, officially handed Thursday the European Commission Progress Report on North Macedonia’s 2022 to Supreme Court President Besa Ademi. “It is of great importance to us that for the first time on record, the EC Report positively assesses the activities of the Supreme Court regarding its efforts to improve the consistency of the verdicts and the harmonization of the case law, adoption of the new Supreme Court Rules of Procedure, as well as signing of the Declaration on Open Judiciary, meant to help improve the transparency and the public’s trust in the judiciary. The assessments by the European Union represent a great encouragement to us as a court,” said Court President Ademi. Ambassador Geer underlined that the Report’s assessment of the activities and the efforts of the Supreme Court is proof of the Court's commitment and contribution to the reform process, and that the reforms should continue with the same commitment in the citizens' interest. The Ambassador stated that professionalism is the strongest guarantee of the efficiency and the independence of every judiciary, and the capacities of all institutions are essential for the realization of justice. Judges Xhemali Saiti and Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska said that international cooperation and cooperation of the highest court in the country with the European Union is of great importance to the implementation of the reform process and that the Supreme Court will be more dedicated to the new strategy on judiciary reform, which the Report points to as a key document for the judiciary. ad/ik/