News
2/17/2022 01:42
Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Affairs Bojan Maricik today at the 31st session of the Committee on European Affairs, with a single item on the agenda the Report of the European Commission for the Republic of North Macedonia for 2021, in front of the MPs and the diplomatic corps in the country, said that the assessment of the total preparedness of the country for 2021 is 3.11, i.e. "good level of preparedness".
Cluster preparedness unequivocally shows that North Macedonia has the highest preparedness in the region, with an average score of 3.02 in the areas and chapters of Cluster 1 Foundations, even in relation to the countries that are already negotiating membership, Serbia with an average score of 2.68 and Montenegro with an average score of 2.83, said Deputy Prime Minister Maricik.
The Commission's report provides an objective overview of the state and progress of reforms and identifies areas where efforts need to be accelerated and more results delivered. According to the analysis of the Secretariat for European Affairs which is made on the basis of a standardized Methodology and according to it the country also has a solid level of preparedness in Cluster 3 Competitiveness and inclusive growth and is on a par with Montenegro. The same conclusion about the level of preparedness applies to Cluster 4 Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity, where we are equally ranked with Serbia, which has already opened this Cluster.
According to the results we expected, the Commission`s conclusions in October last year when the Report was published that "the country continues to meet the conditions for opening accession negotiations, and the authorities publicly demonstrate their firm commitment to the country's progress on its path to EU, Mariciк added.
In the end, Deputy Prime Minister Maricik emphasized that they are fully aware that despite the achieved results, the country still has a lot of work to do. That is why he believes that the process of European integration is an issue around which we should have a unified approach in order to implement reforms more effectively.
- The pace of reforms mostly depends on our commitment, honest approach and broad consensus in society and in this Assembly as well, which is necessary to move forward at the desired pace. Certainly, the formal start of accession negotiations will provide the necessary impetus for the implementation of in-depth reforms at an accelerated pace, not only in harmonization with EU law, but also in the substantial implementation of the adopted laws, concluded Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Maricik.