First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for European Affairs, Bekim Sali, addressed the National Consultation “From Commitments to Action: Gender-Responsive EU Accession Roadmap for North Macedfonia”, organised by the Ministry for European Affairs in cooperation with UN Women office in North Macedonia.
In his remarks, Minister Sali emphasized that the process of European integration is not merely a technical alignment with EU legislation, but a fundamental societal transformation, in which gender equality represents a key indicator of the quality of democracy.
“The European Union is a community of values, and equality is one of its fundamental principles. Therefore, gender perspective must be integrated into all policies, reforms, and institutional processes,” Sali stated.
He highlighted that, despite the progress achieved, challenges remain in overcoming structural inequalities, strengthening institutional capacities, and improving inter-institutional coordination.
Minister Sali called for shared responsibility across all institutions, emphasizing that European integration is measured not only by adopted legislation, but by its real impact on citizens’ lives.
“Our ambition is to build a roadmap that is applicable, measurable, and oriented towards concrete results. This is not just the preparation of a strategic document – it is about setting a new standard in policymaking,” Sali underlined.
The event represents an important step in the development of the Gender-Responsive EU Accession Roadmap for North Macedonia in collaboration with UN Women, which aims at the systematic integration of gender equality principles into the European integration process.
