Skopje, 2 October 2024 (MIA) - Minister of European Affairs Orhan Murtezani met Wednesday with representatives of the statistical office of the European Union – Eurostat, Jean-Pierre Poncelet and Claudia Junker.

According to the Ministry of European Affairs, the meeting focused on the importance of official statistics in North Macedonia’s EU accession process, as well as its use to create evidence-based development and economic policies. Assistance for the State Statistical Office was also discussed in order to ensure it meets the needs of the Euro-integration process.

Minister Murtezani highlighted the key role of statistics, not only as part of Chapter 18 of the EU acquis, but also through several other political areas. He stressed that statistics are vital for the monitoring of economic management, public administration reform and institutional harmonization with EU standards.

“The meeting stressed that North Macedonia has made significant progress in aligning its statistical system with EU standards, which has been confirmed by various reports by the European Commission. Interlocutors underlined the need for further improvements, especially in terms of expanding the scope and quality of data for macroeconomic and social statistics. Both sides affirmed their commitment to the continuation of cooperation, in the context of North Macedonia’s progress to complete integration into the Union,” the Ministry of European Affairs said in a press release.

Photo: Ministry of European Affairs