The Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia in charge of European Affairs Dr. Fatmir Besimi today February 13, 2014 , met the Rapporteur for Macedonia in the European Parliament , Mr Richard Howitt .

At the beginning of the meeting the Deputy Prime Minister Besimi expressed satisfaction of the recommendations contained in the Resolution of the European Parliament , which relate to setting the date for the start of accession negotiations , initiating the process of screening and assessment that Macedonia represents a functional market economy .

The Deputy Prime Minister Besimi stressed the importance of continuing the High Level Accession Dialogue between Macedonia and the European Union , as a mechanism for maintaining the momentum of the reform process and informed for the intentions of the Government in the next period to focus on a few key priorities from HLAD.

The same was welcomed by Mr Howitt, who said that is extremely important in the future the real progress in several key areas to be shown , such as freedom of expression , unblocking the work of the Working Group of the Assembly , the implementation fair and democratic elections , etc. .

European parliament member Howitt noted the importance of the ensuring inclusiveness of the process , particularly in relation to the participation of civil society and Parliament.