Brussels, 15 March 2023 (MIA) – Explanatory screening on Cluster 4 - Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity began in Brussels on Wednesday.

The explanatory screening meeting on Cluster 4 began with Chapter 21 - Trans-European Networks and Chapter 14 - Transport Policy.

Mona Björklund, Director of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, pointed out that 25 percent of the whole EU acquis falls within the transport sector, MIA reports from Brussels. 

She pointed out that talks with North Macedonia on Chapters 14 and 21 of Cluster 4 have started since 2019. However, she noted, since then there have been many updates and new legal acts that the country needs to implement, highlighting the importance of the country's cooperation with the EU in terms of the Transport Community Treaty.

"On the EU's side, transport policy is driven by the priorities of the green agenda and carbon neutrality. The goal is to achieve green, smart and affordable mobility. EU transport legislation is constantly evolving and we are here to support you. There is still work to be done to step up efforts to implement these legal acts. The new acts are important for all our commitments to make Europe greener," said Björklund.  

Addressing the opening of the explanatory screening meeting, Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Marichikj said that in implementing the Stabilization and Association Agreement for more than 15 years, North Macedonia is aware that the transport sector is one of the pillars of growth, competitiveness and development of modern economies. 

"On the other hand, the Trans-European Transport Network identifies priority corridors and thematic areas of the Trans-European Transport Infrastructure and provides guidance for important projects. We welcome the European Commission's intention to make additional efforts for the development of a new European transport corridor in the Western Balkans," said Marichikj.  

He mentioned certain steps taken in this sector in the past years, including progress in the area of the EU-Western Balkans Green Belt Initiative, noting that the country supports the green corridors in the region and is fully committed to this process.

He also pointed out that the Government promotes regional cooperation, focusing on the international dimension of all transport areas, developing and modernizing transport infrastructure, renewing the existing one and developing towards European transport corridors.

A group of journalists from North Macedonia is following the meeting for the first time since the start of the screening process, a joint project of the Secretariat for European Affairs and Nordic Support for Progress of North Macedonia.

On Wednesday, the journalists will meet with Acting Director for the Western Balkans at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Michela Matuella, as well as with the Foreign Policy Advisors to Aeuropean Council President Charles Michel, Simon Mordue and Maja Kocijančič.

The journalists will hold a briefing with Deputy PM Marichikj at the Offices of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of North Macedonia to the European Union in Brussels, and will also meet with Head of the Mission, Ambassador Zulfi Ismaili. 

Cluster 4 is on the top of European Union's priorities, including a frequently updated vast legislation, especially in the field of environment protection and investments.