The Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia in charge of European Affairs, Dr. Fatmir Besimi, today met with the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Nikos Kocias.

At the meeting, the current challenges facing the European Union, Greece and Macedonia have been discussed and the need for mutual cooperation in the spirit of the Thessaloniki Agenda, as a foundation for the accession of the Western Balkans into the European Union, and the opportunities for further economic and development cooperation in several areas.

The Deputy Prime Minister Besimi emphasized the expectation that Greece will support the open integration of the Western Balkan countries, which will contribute significantly to strengthening the stability and economic prosperity of the entire region.

The Deputy Prime Minister highlighted that it is particularly important for us and we are working towards further strengthening and development of good neighborly relations and regional cooperation. He welcomed the adoption of measures for confidence building made by teams from both the countries.

We are fully aware of the challenges ahead of us at a national level and our responsibility as politicians and officials to their overcome, we expect to continue political dialogue in order to overcome the political obstacles and believe that it will contribute to overcome the political crisis and to continue the European way through the implementation of new priority reforms, stressed Besimi.

The Government of the Republic of Macedonia is actively engaged in the preparation and adoption of an Action Plan for future reform activities based on priorities delivered by EC experts' report and conclusions of the EU Council and the preparation for the Stabilisation and Association Council, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Based on the above mentioned documents, the reform focus in the upcoming period will be on: the rule of law and fundamental rights, depoliticization of public administration, freedom of expression and electoral reforms, and the implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement and the promotion of good neighborly relations.

The stakeholders also, emphasised the good economic cooperation and positive development, whereby the Greece was mentioned to be the traditional strategic partner of the Republic of Macedonia and one of the largest foreign investors in the country.

Among other things, the positive development dynamics of the IPA cross-border cooperation between Macedonia and Greece was discussed. Within this program, seven financial agreements were signed so far, in amount of EUR 9.93 million, through which more than 50 projects are implemented or are being implemented more. Both sides expect the positive trend in the upcoming period in the development and implementation of projects of common interest as part of the IPA Cross – Border Cooperation Programme 2014 - 2020, in total amount of EUR 45 million, which will be available through various project calls.

The intensification of cooperation have been discussed in several areas of the part of the harmonisation of our legislation with the EU and sharing the experiences of Greece with their counterparts from the Macedonian side, on a bilateral basis but also through the use of EU instruments, such as Twinning, TAIEX and etc.

Finally, the interlocutors expressed hope for further improvement of bilateral cooperation and support and development of the current initiatives.

Skopje, 24 June, 2015