The Secretariat for European Affairs in cooperation with the French Embassy and the Ministry of Local Self-Government, on 17 and 18 December 2015 organised activities to strengthen the administrative capacities of these institutions in terms of coordination and management of programs for cross-border cooperation.

This activity is part of the support which is given by France over many years to the Macedonian institutions in terms of the European integration process and adoption of the acquis of the European Union.
In this framework, a conference was held, that allowed the French expert, Mr. Jean-Luc Fresno, responsible for coordinating cooperation programmes that are the responsibility of France to share his experiences with his counterpart from the Ministry of Local Self-Government.

"The Embassy of France in Skopje supports the Secretariat for European Affairs in its role of coordination of the funds for pre-accession assistance (IPA) and the European integration process through the development of flexible and reactive forms of cooperation. The presence of a French expert next to the Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, Fatmir Besimi, PhD having an advisory role to the Government of the Republic of Macedonia in these areas helps to quickly identify and respond to the needs of the Macedonian authorities. France, continues now, as in the past, with this cooperation, contributing to the realisation of the European perspective of the country", stated the Acting at the Embassy of France, Mr. Dominique Gautier.