Skopje, 9 May 2023 (MIA) — To mark May 9, Victory Day and Europe Day, the government has organized an event honoring the heroes who fought against Fascism. At the invitation of the government, various delegations will lay flowers at the Partisan Memorial Cemetery at Butel and at the Monument to the Liberators of Skopje and give speeches.

This is the first Europe Day that North Macedonia is marking as a country that is holding membership negotiations with the European Union.

At the 'Road to 2030' panel discussion held ahead of the third Prespa Forum Dialogue at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Bojan Marichikj highlighted he importance of continuing to carry out EU reforms.

"We opened the negotiations on July 19 last year," he said. "The screening is extremely useful for us, as it gives us the opportunity to show where we are."

"The rule of law, functional democratic institutions, and public administration reforms are the three areas we must work on this year because they are required for opening the Fundamentals cluster," he noted.

Marichikj, who is also the chief negotiator with the EU, said the goal of joining the EU in 2030 was achievable through cooperation. "We can do it only if we work together on the same goal," he said.

Ami Larsson Jain, the Ambassador of Sweden, which currently holds the EU Presidency, said any aspiring EU member state should focus on the fight against corruption and the rule of law, as EU's fundamental values.

She said obstacles remained for the country on its EU path. The union, she said, as well as international partners had already voiced their concerns about some issues. What was needed, she noted, was a real commitment from all stakeholders along with accountability and transparency. "There are no shortcuts on the way to the EU," she said.

Larsson Jain added that the country had also made some progress. North Macedonia, she said, opened the screening process well, appointing a professional team that made an important step. Also, all major political parties claiming that European integration was the country's strategic goal was a good start, she added.

Greater efforts are needed, however, to achieve political consensus on EU integration, according to the Swedish ambassador.

Europe Day marks the anniversary of the landmark Schuman Declaration. At a Paris speech in 1950, Robert Schuman, the then French foreign minister, set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable. Schuman’s proposal is considered to be the beginning of what is now the European Union.

This year, however, is the second year that Europe is facing a war on its territory, which has caused a severe economic and political crisis. Although the EU has shown strong unity in condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and introduced sanctions against Moscow, new challenges have arisen regarding the future of its enlargement agenda.

After 17 years of candidate status, North Macedonia last July formally started the pre-accession negotiations with the EU by holding the First Intergovernmental Conference.

The screening of the domestic legislation and its alignment with the European acquis is in progress and should be completed in November.

A condition for the talks to continue and for the Second Intergovernmental Conference to be held — and open the negotiations by chapters — are for the country to make constitutional amendments to include the Bulgarian community into the Constitution. mr/