Skopje, 3 November 2023 (MIA) - The Steering Committee of the “Support for Policy Reforms, Accession and Effectiveness (SUPRAE)” project, financed by the European Union, held its second meeting at the Secretariat for European Affairs on Friday, attended by Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Marichikj and Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to North Macedonia, Steffen Hudolin.

Deputy PM Marichikj emphasized the importance of EU projects in the implementation of reforms and expressed his gratitude for the Union's support in the negotiations process, the Secretariat for European Affairs said in a press release.

This process is at a very important stage so it requires we build on our institutional and administrative capacities, and implement reform plans. The implementation of this project is important for the accession process, and its results provide a clear strategic framework with well-defined goals and objectives, both at a national and sectoral level.

According to Marichikj, the SUPRAE project provides support for North Macedonia's accession process, the Secretariat and all relevant institutions involved. Its implementation is beneficial to four complements: strengthening strategic planning, reporting and communication; establishing a strategic methodological and functioning framework in the accession process and advancing programming; use and assessment of EU funds by competent institutions; and communicating with the public.

All four components include support for training programs, recruitment, raising public awareness and communication that will contribute to a better public understanding of EU's role and accession process as a whole, digitization of certain aspects of the negotiations process and better management of EU funds, reads the press release.

The second meeting focused on progress, challenges and future plans, with emphasis on meetings of sectoral working groups for regular political dialogue and transparency.

The second component provides support for certain aspects of the screening process. The third component provides support for programming and management of EU funds (IPA), while the fourth component will be focused on preparing strategies for communication with the public and other relevant stakeholders in the EU accession process, noted SEA.

Photo: SEA