“The (FYRof) Macedonia's Road to EU Accession: Setting the Priorities”
25 September 2007
On the 22nd of September, the European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity organised a conference in Skopje, in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (Skopje Office) and the Olof palme International Center. The Socialdemocratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) was our host in Skopje and its party leader, Radmila Sekerinska opened the meeting.
The conference gathered representatives of (social) democratic parties in the region and was attended by approximately 50 participants. Ioan Pascu, member of the parliamentary group of the Party of European Socialists (PES) and Vice Chairman Committee on Foreign Affairs (European Parliament) also welcomed our guests. The programme addressed the accomplishements and challenges of Macedonia on its way towards European Union (EU) integration. Specifically, the programme included panel discussions on the political and economic criteria related to EU integration. In addition, representatives from Albania, Serbia (Kosovo), Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina addressed the developments related to EU Accession in their respective countries.
The press conference of Sekerinska and Pascu was covered by several TV stations and national printed media:
"European Left Wing on Macedonian Accession to the EU"
(Reported on 22.09.2007 in electronic media and on 24.09.2007 in print media)
Saturday in Skopje, EU Representative from the Socialist Group and the Left Wing in Europe Joan Mircea Pasku committed to accession of Macedonia to the EU in the near future.
“It is obvious that your country has achieved significant progress, which is due to the Social Democrats long rule, but we also support the current government in continuing the process and the soonest possible opening of the negotiations for EU membership,” stated Pasku at the regional conference ‘Macedonia – EU’. According to him, the conference is held at a significant moment for review of priorities and evaluation of Macedonia in the integration processes.
Source: Dnevnik; Spic; Nova Makedonija; A1; Kanal 5; Sitel; Telma; MTV1
The speakers at the conference were representatives of political parties, the Dutch Ambassador to Macedonia, the European Commission Delegation to Macedonia, the State Secretariat for European Affairs in Skopje, the University in Skopje, Helsinki Comité in Skopje and the Center for Economic Analysis (Skopje).
A final report will follow. For more information please contact Alma Balesic, Project Manager European Forum, at abalesic@pvda.nl or 0031 (0)20 5512 170.
