Skopje, 17 March 2023 (MIA) – Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Marichikj during sixteenth meeting of the EU - North Macedonia Stabilisation and Association Council on Friday in Skopje said that EU doors remain open, but it is up to us to complete our obligations and deliver results that are in the interest of the citizens and the economic development of the country.

“We are well prepared to continue the EU negotiation process. We should use the political support from EU member states now and maintain the continuity of European integration,” Marichikj said, Secretariat for European Affairs said in a press release.

Marichikj said that North Macedonia implements the Stabilisation and Association Agreement in continuity which, as indicated, has achieved a significant level of harmonization of national legislation with EU law.
“All SSA bodies are in regular session, which is confirmed by this meeting today. According to the new methodology for accession negotiations, the bodies of the SAA - the Council, the Committee and the subcommittees are important because within them the dynamics of the accession negotiations will be monitored, which will expand the scope of topics for discussion,” Marichikj said.

Regarding the commitment to economic criteria, Marichikj said that the liquidity and solvency of the banking system is solid and stable.

“The country's macroeconomic stability has been maintained and recorded solid growth of 3.2% in the first half of 2022. Exports of goods and services registered a growth of 14.5% on a real basis. Positive developments in the labor market continued during 2022. The unemployment rate in the third quarter of 2022 decreased to 14.3%, while the employment rate reached 47.3%,” Marichikj said.

He pointed out that the new Law on Budgets was adopted, which introduces fiscal rules, fiscal council, medium-term budgeting and further improvement of fiscal transparency.

Deputy PM Marichikj said that despite all the challenges, progress has been achieved in terms of further compliance with EU legislation, stating that the Strategy for the Development of the Public Procurement System 2022-2026 has been adopted.

In the sphere of energy, Marichikj said that the priority is the revision of the national energy and climate plan, as well as activities to improve energy efficiency, with the aim of reducing the vulnerability of the country to external shocks and increasing energy security.

He also shared the positive impressions from the screening process so far and expressed his gratitude to EU Commissioner for Enlargement Várhelyi and the European Commission services for the good organization of the screening meetings.

He mentioned that it is important for us to receive the screening reports as quickly as possible, in order, as he assessed, to maintain the focus and motivation for reforms both in the administration and in society as a whole.

“In parallel, we are also working on the preparation of the contribution to the annual report of the European Commission, which includes over 160 institutions and over 1,200 civil servants,” he said.

“We expect that the new methodology for accession negotiations, which is applied for the first time in our case (and Albania), will contribute to the dynamism of the negotiations, the accelerated and irreversible transformation of our societies into fully functioning democracies and the convergence of our economies by reducing disparities,” Marichikj said.

At the meeting, Marichikj thanked for the support we receive from the EU for the implementation of reforms through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA), but also for the assistance for macroeconomic stability and dealing with the consequences of the energy and COVID crisis.

“The framework agreement for the implementation of IPA 3 has been ratified, it has entered into force. The accreditation packages for the implementation of projects in the transport and environment sectors have been prepared, passed the establishment phase, self-assessment and are currently in the conformity assessment phase within the IPA auditing body,” he noted.

This was the first time that the SA Council meeting took place in North Macedonia, underlining the European Union’s full and unequivocal commitment to the EU membership perspective of the Western Balkans and to the accession negotiation process of North Macedonia.

The meeting provided an opportunity to take stock of the progress that North Macedonia made in the preparations for EU membership and within the framework of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, and to discuss the further work needed. 

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski. The Delegation of North Macedonia also included Deputy Prime Minister Bojan Maricikj and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani. The EU delegation was led by Josep Borrell Fontelles, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, represented the European Commission.

Photo: Secretariat for European Affairs