Skopje, 2 April 2023 (MIA) - It is important for citizens to know the facts about how everyday life will change for the better when the country joins the European Union and that the more supporters the accession process has, there will be less room for misinformation and manipulation, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, Bojan Marichikj said.

In an interview with the Institute for Media and Analytics - IMA, as reported by the Deputy PM’s Office, he said that the EU accession process is complex, long-lasting and with many details, and according to him, this makes it susceptible to misinformation.

“We are not the first country that faced this fight against disinformation in its process of accession to the European Union. But, unfortunately, we also have more difficult issues, which are related to identity and topics related to our Constitution, our legal system and the way the state functions. And that's why it's so susceptible to misinformation, that's why it's so hard to fight it,” he said.

Marichikj noted that the government is making efforts to make the whole negotiation process more transparent and believes that in addition to the daily repetition and arguments that the negotiations have begun and their benefits, both by the government, but also by the European Commission and the EU member states, constant education of civil society organizations, but also constant education of the media about the EU accession process is necessary.

“We started with that education, with a group of about fifteen journalists, for whom, in addition to visiting Brussels, we also prepared a training program beforehand so that they could better understand the political and economic system of the European Union and be able to better inform the citizens. The more supporters the process of European integration has, the better for the citizens, and there will be less room for misinformation, manipulation, and speculation,” Marichikj said.

“It is in our interest to fulfill our obligations as soon as possible. Screening has been completed for two key clusters, for which we are awaiting reports. Based on them, we will have to prepare documents for reforms, in which we will define our obligations to EU membership, in a given time frame,” he added.

In the interview he also referred to the misinformation in regard to the EU negotiation process and the screening process on the "Depolarize yourself" platform, which is part of the project "Through depolarization to democratic, stable, inclusive institutions: contribution of civil society", which is implemented by the Institute for Media and Analytics - IMA Skopje.