We had a very productive meeting with the Prime Minister and during the day I will also meet with the Speaker of the Parliament, with representatives of civil society, and of course with the youth. At the core of the accession process, of course, are the reforms that you talked about and the concrete benefits for citizens, improved services for the public, better opportunities for the youth that will contribute to a more prosperous economy. In that direction, we have really seen encouraging progress since the beginning of the year, in the reform agenda, and that is why we want to welcome the increased commitment of the government in advancing this work, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Eastern Neighborhood Marta Kos said Wednesday.
“Macedonia is among the best performers, in terms of compliance with European standards, and that is why Macedonia has qualified in the group of countries to which we will provide additional funds for the Growth Plan, and we have discussed this a lot, this is not so obvious. You can reach the top, because you are delivering on expectations and I am really happy to be able to assure you that your country is in that group,” said Kos.
Regarding the reform agenda, Kos indicated that 90% has been implemented, while 10% remains, and that is the Electoral Code.
“As for reforms, I would like to emphasize that reforms are not just the government’s job, they are not just the Parliament’s job, it is a national project where all stakeholders should be involved and especially the Parliament, that is the place where reforms are adopted, so I hope, considering that you have implemented 90% of the 10 reforms that were supposed to be completed by July 15, that those last 10% are the Electoral Code, which will be adopted. And here I call on all parties for a single inter-party consensus so that we can have 100% success, and I hope that it will happen,” noted Kos.
“When that happens, it will be in the country’s interest because the accession negotiations will move forward. The reform agenda and what you are doing in the Growth Plan and on the other hand the accession process will merge to a certain extent. Then Macedonia can join those advanced countries much faster. We are already seeing the benefits of EU accession coming to the citizens of Macedonia. SEPA gives Macedonian citizens and businesses equal treatment when transferring money, and talks will soon begin on abolishing roaming in Macedonia, which means that there will be no additional fees for mobile telephony. We are building key transport routes, from Albania to Bulgaria and from Serbia to Greece to improve connectivity in the region and in the EU,” added the EU commissioner.
