Local and regional representatives from EU and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia discuss the protection of minorities at sub-national level
Committee of the Regions (CoR) members and representatives of local and regional authorities from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia met in Brussels on Tuesday, in framework of the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) established between the two parties. This was the 11 th meeting of the JCC, which was set up in March 2008 to follow the former Yugoslav Republic's road to EU from local and regional authorities' perspective.
Participants were welcomed by the two co-chairs of the JCC, Jacques Blanc (FR/EPP), Mayor of Canourgue, and Ivica Konevski, Mayor of Aerodrom. Mr Blanc stated that the meeting is taking place at an exciting moment with the beginning of the new European political cycle and hoped that this will bring new dynamism to the enlargement policy, in benefit of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's bid to join the EU. "Even if there will be no new accessions before 2020, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't push forward with the enlargement process", he stressed. Ljupcho Prendzov, Deputy Minister of Local Self-government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, highlighted the in-depth cooperation between his country and all EU institutions: "The government of the Republic of Macedonia recognises the importance of including all levels in the accession process, also through this JCC."
This was followed by the adoption of a report on "The possibilities and instruments available to local authorities to support the accession process - A focus on territorial cross-border cooperation", drafted by CoR member Jasna Gabriā (SI/ALDE), Deputy mayor of Trbovlje, and Gjoko Strezovski, Mayor of Resen. The report stresses the need to strengthen local administrative and management capacities and highlights the opportunities that European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) can offer for cross-border cooperation. It also recommends including the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in the Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Macroregion.
The participants discussed the state of play of the enlargement process and its impact on subnational authorities, with valuable contributions from representatives of the European Commission, the Mission of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the EU and the Delegation of the EU in Skopje. The progress report issued by European Commission in October concluded that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continues to sufficiently meet the political criteria and the European Commission recommended, for the sixth consecutive year, that accession negotiations should be opened. It also noted that adequate resources are needed to complete the process of decentralisation of government and to support local development. Franz Schausberger (AT/EPP), CoR rapporteur for a forthcoming opinion on "Enlargement strategy and main challenges 2014-2015", pointed out that these views are shared by the CoR and that the unresolved question on the name of the country shouldn't be an obstacle for beginning the negotiations.
The role of the local and regional authorities in the promotion of respect for human rights and the protection of minorities was another important point on the agenda. Luc Van den Brande (BE/EPP), Chairman of the Flemish-European Liaison Agency, presented the draft opinion on the "Local and regional authorities and the multilevel protection of the rule of law and fundamental rights in the EU", which argues that the concept of multilevel governance should be explicitly taken as the starting point for the protection of fundamental rights. JCC member Hazbi Idrizi, Mayor of the mainly Albanian-speaking municipality of Bogovinje, emphasized the multi-ethnic and multicultural character of the Macedonian society and praised the recent progress in terms of decentralisation and protection of minorities in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Joint Consultative Committee EU - the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
The CoR Joint EU - former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Consultative Committee was set up in March 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.
The JCC meetings provides members from both sides with an opportunity to learn about each other’s political priorities and to exchange views on the general situation of the local and regional authorities in the partner country. In particular, they provide the opportunity to express possible concerns about shortcomings in the preparation of the accession and the process of decentralisation in the partner country.