The Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Affairs, Bojan Mariciк within his visit to Strasbourg, today had a meeting with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic Buric, where they discussed the promotion of cooperation in the implementation of reform processes, as well as the conditions and perspectives in the European integration process of North Macedonia and the region.

- In the past five years we have undertaken the obligation to implement European reforms and we have not stopped so far with their implementation in order to provide our citizens with European living standards and in this regard the cooperation with the Council of Europe through the excellent communication with the Office in Skopje, has a special role in fulfilling those reforms, through the implementation of joint projects complementary to the reform agenda, said Deputy Prime Minister Maricik.

Maricik and Buric reaffirmed that North Macedonia and the Council of Europe remain partners in preserving European values and that they share the same priorities in the field of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Pejcinovic Buric, expressed satisfaction with the meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Maricik and an expectation that the Government will continue constructive cooperation with a number of expert bodies of the Council of Europe in order to contribute to achieving the basic goals. In her opinion, many major steps have been taken and concrete and sustainable results have been achieved through the implementation of the European agenda.

Maricik briefed Pejcinovic Buric on the priorities in the process of approximation to the European standards for the upcoming period and in that context jointly considered the possibilities for enhancing the cooperation with the Council of Europe in implementing new projects for support of the reforms envisaged by the Government.

They agreed that North Macedonia meets all the conditions for the start of negotiations, which is confirmed in the Progress Report by the European Commission and by other international reports such as Transparency International, Freedom House, GRECO and others, as well as that it is in the interest of both the country and the Union to remove all obstacles to start the accession negotiations.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the current situation in Ukraine, and Pejcinovic Buric informed Deputy Prime Minister Maricik about the activities undertaken by the Council of Europe on this occasion. In that regard, Maricik stressed that now more than ever it is important to complete the unification of the continent, to strengthen the Union itself from within in order to become more resistant to possible current and future threats.