The Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia for European Affairs, Fatmir Besimi, PhD, held working meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria HE Mr.
Deputy Prime Minister congratulated the Ambassador Nina Suomalainen to her appointment as head of the OSCE mission in our country and wished her successful tenure.

During the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Besimi stressed the importance of the upcoming early parliamentary elections for the country's future, but also to maintain the recommendation to start negotiations for accession to the EU, the need to deliver more tangible results in priority reform areas, as well as the positive side of amendments to the Electoral Code were adopted by consensus among the major political parties.

Besimi expressed gratitude for the support that the OSCE Mission to Skopje provides to the Macedonian authorities to implement an integrated system of education and building capacities of civil servants in international democratic standards and principles, and also helps in the electoral reform, trains police officers and helps with the reforms process in the judiciary.
During the talks Deputy Prime Minister Besimi emphasised that the 2015 Progress Report is an objective reflection of the progress made in the past year and a realistic assessment of the overall preparedness of the country in meeting the criteria for EU membership, and provides clear guidelines for activities that should be undertaken in the future, in view of the obligations arising from the urgent reform priorities of the European Commission.

Ambassador Nina Suomalainen highlighted certain aspects of the European Commission Progress Report, particularly those that are closely related to the mandate and activities of the OSCE Mission. The interlocutors also discussed the Governmental Action Plan for urgent reform priorities, on which OSCE Mission offered support and assistance.