The Vice Prime Minister for European Affairs and Chief Negotiator with the European Union, Bojan Maricic, in his address at the 20th meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee between North Macedonia and the EU, emphasized the importance of inclusion and cooperation with various social actors, emphasizing the Parliament as a key institution on the progress of the negotiations and their dynamics.

- The Parliament is a significant partner in the accession to the European Union, and therefore the role of its bodies - the Commission for European Affairs and the National Council for European Integration, will be defined through a Memorandum of Cooperation. Realizing the importance of having a national consensus, we will make every effort to include the opposition in the process, Maricic said.

He emphasized that the country has foreseen its dynamics in relation to full membership in the European Union and specifically in relation to our preparations for the screening process and subsequent activities, giving a brief overview of the adopted negotiation structure, which is currently being operationalized, and is based on long-term mechanisms for EU coordination, but also reflects the novelties of the revised EU methodology for accession negotiations.

In the European Parliament, Maricic expressed his satisfaction with the support we receive through the activities within the "Jean Monnet" dialogue and expressed his belief that the cooperation will intensify and that the experience of the MEPs and the regular communication with the members of our Assembly will be of exceptional help. on how to further improve the role of the Parliament, as a forum for constructive political dialogue.

– Your support, partnership and advice would be even more appreciated in our preparations for the bilateral screening, as one of the new areas, "The functioning of democratic institutions" in Cluster 1 - "Foundations", which is the most important of the accession process, as well as the sub-area for the functioning of parliaments in democratic institutions, said Maricic.

He used the opportunity and briefly informed the MEPs about the progress of the screening process, about the successfully completed negotiations on the Status Agreement with FRONTEX and announced its signing in a few weeks.

- I can proudly say that North Macedonia is the first country in the region to have the agreement according to the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation of 2019. In the area of ​​the rule of law, the activities for the preparation of a new judicial strategy are underway, as well as the process of digitalization of the judiciary, informed Maricić, adding that the financial investigations continue, and the draft law on the Property Recovery Administration is expected to enter the parliament. procedure.

Today in Strasbourg, the second day of the session of the Joint Parliamentary Committee between North Macedonia and the EU continues, with important points on the agenda for developing debate, such as the energy crisis and the environment, good neighborly relations and regional cooperation and the Report of the "Jean Monnet" Dialogue.