Skopje, 6 April 2022 (MIA) – Deputy PM for European Affairs and National IPA Coordinator, Bojan Marichikj, opened on Wednesday the fifth meeting of the Sector Working Group on justice. Deputy PM Marichikj stressed the importance of this sector, particularly in terms of European integration, the Secretariat for European Affairs said in a press release. “The rule of law is at the core of our country’s EU accession, and reforms play a key role in the whole process. The country devotes major effort and resources in the rule of law, building a functioning judiciary, and the fight against organized crime with the sole purpose of ensuring economic development and enabling democracy in practice,” Marichikj said. According to him, it is necessary to properly coordinate donor assistance in order to be complementary or rationally allocated, to include the European integration reforms planned in the National Program for the Adoption of the EU Acquis, as a comprehensive national strategic and program document to guide the process of European integration, as well as the ongoing National Development Plan and the Economic Reform Program, which practically complete the planning and setting priorities at the strategic level. Marichikj also highlighted the importance of participation of civil society organizations in the meetings of the sector working groups in order to provide their feedback on ways in which the implementation of priorities is achievable, effective and efficient, as well as their commitment to implementing some of the priorities. “I believe in the next phase, funding of well-defined and agreed priorities will be provided - regardless of the source of funding, be it the national budget or donor assistance,” said Marichikj, adding that the IPA 2023-2024 programming process has begun. According to him, the new projects will provide a significant contribution to the implementation of major reform processes, to strengthen and increase the efficiency of judicial institutions, enhance prevention and fight against corruption, and enhance protection of human rights, in order to ensure greater legal security of citizens and restore trust in judiciary.