The Stabilisation and Association Committee between the Republic of Macedonia and the EU held its twelfth meeting in Brussels on 17 June 2015.

The meeting was co-chaired by Ms Ana Blazheska, State Secretary at the Secretariat for European Affairs of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia and Mr Jean-Eric Paquet, Director at
Directorate General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission.

The meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Committee completed a cycle of sectoral subcommittees under the SAA held since the end of 2014. The results of the Committee meeting will, in turn, be reported to the Stabilisation and Association Council, which will meet on 20 July 2015.

The Stabilisation and Association Committee reviewed the fulfillment of the political criteria over the previous period, as well as the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA).
In light of the continued political crisis and political developments in recent months, the Committee"s review of the implementation of accession-related reforms focused in particular on the areas of justice and home affairs, fundamental rights including freedom of the media, and public administration reform.
During the meeting, a number of political and economic developments were presented and discussed, and the Commission presented the urgent reform priorities to be addressed in the coming months.

Both sides also discussed possibilities for further improvement of the SAA working structures and methods aimed at streamlining and improving the efficiency of the ongoing dialogue.

Version 17 June 2015