Skopje, 7 November 2023 (MIA) - The Association of Units of Local Self-Government (ZELS) is hosting the 22nd meeting of the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) between North Macedonia and the European Union (EU), represented through the European Committee of the Regions (CoR).

The President of ZELS and the Mayor of Kiselа Voda municipality, Orce Gjorgjievski, along with the Minister of Local Self-Government, Risto Penov, and the Mayor of the City of Skopje, Danela Arsovska, are scheduled to speak.

As part of the first topic "Developments in the Process of North Macedonia's Accession to the EU," several prominent individuals are set to share their insights. These include Ben Nupnau, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation in our country, Anna Magyar, CoR rapporteur for enlargement strategy at the Committee of the Regions, as well as other CoR representatives.

The second theme of this meeting is dedicated to "Rule of Law and the Role of Local Communities in Combating Hate Speech, Hate Crimes, Fake News, and Foreign Influence."

The current co-chair of our country is the Mayor of the City of Skopje, Danela Arsovska, and Jasna Gabrič, is the co-chair of the Committee of Regions, a member of the Municipality Council of Trbovlje (Republic of Slovenia).

The CoR Joint EU - North Macedonia Consultative Committee was set up in 2008 in order to monitor internal reform in the country and to promote political dialogue with representatives of local and regional authorities. The JCC has 11 members from the EU and 11 from the partner country, ZELS said in a press release

Photo: MIA archive