“Nothing about us without us!”
Startup initiatives
For quite some time, the European Movement in the Republic of Macedonia (EMRM) had been keeping an eye on the creation and experience of the National Convention on the European Union in the neighboring countries, inspired by the Slovak example, and put into effect by the national European Movements.
EMRM representatives participated in international conferences where the results and experience of this project were presented, attempting to establish contacts and express readiness for its realization in the Republic of Macedonia. The first concrete step in this direction was achieved with Slovak Foreign Policy Association`s Mr. Tomáš Strážay at the conference “Civil Society and Beyond: A Joint Dialogue on the European Path” in Belgrade at the beginning of 2016.
During Slovakia`s EU presidency, a meeting with the Slovak Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia, Martin Bezák, was held. He acquainted EMRM with the efforts of his country to keep the question of enlargement high on the agenda, notwithstanding the problems the EU was facing at that time. It was agreed that a positive move in the direction of EU accession could be made by implementing the Slovak experience of establishing a National Convention on the European Union. EDRM started preparations and consultations to this end, but the political crisis and the deep division of the country did not leave space for its realization.
During 2017, there was a growing number of meetings with the Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA) in order to define the specifics of the Republic of Macedonia regarding the implementation of the NCEU. During this period, the Republic of Macedonia was in a deep political crisis and a division for the initiators, especially for Ambassador M. Bezak was an even greater incentive for the implementation of the NCEU because it is a unified project, a constructive dialogue project and a constructive way of finding solutions in the established chapters of the pre-accession negotiations according to its methodology.
After the formation of the new Government of the Republic of Macedonia in the beginning of 2017, which, with its 3-6-9 program, declared the consolidation and acceleration of the European integration process to be one of their priorities, EMRM once again took up activities in order to form the National Convention on the European Union in the Republic of Macedonia. In the summer of 2017, the project application together with SFPA (Tomash Strazhay) was worked out and priority areas were defined, where the NCEU-MK would be directed. In June, the working version of the NCEU-MK was prepared, and at the same time the negotiations of the potential donors (SlovakAid and USAID) were under way for financial support managed by the Slovak partners.
After the creation of the formal bases of the NCEU-MK, the idea of NCEU-MK was presented to the relevant Macedonian institutions. Initially, a meeting was held with the Vice President of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia in charge of European affairs, Mr. G. Bujar Osmani, who showed significant interest NCEU-MK encouraging the team of EDRM to continue further with the adaptation of the Macedonian conditions, stressing that it should act with all capacities for advancement in the European integration processes. A meeting was also held with the President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia Mr. G. Talat Xhaferi, who assessed the initiative for the NCEU-MK as timely and very important for the Euro-integration perspectives of the Republic of Macedonia, giving full support. Meetings were also held with Ms. Mila Carova – Minister of Labor and Social Policy, G. Oliver Spasovski – Minister of the Interior. The idea for establishing NCEU-MK was generally supported with a markedly expressed political will to help its realization.
The first meeting of the NCEU – MK
The meeting was held in the Club of the Members of Parliament on October 10, 2017, attended by the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovakia, HE Martin Bezak, President of the European Movement in the Republic of Macedonia, prof. Dr. Mileva Gjurovska, Mr. Tomash Strazhaj and Mr. Peter Brezan from SFPA, Ms. Besa Drndar from the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia, Mrs. Beti Jacheva and Ms. Linda Salieska from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Aleksandar Jovanovic from USAID and other representatives from the national team of EDRM. This conference essentially marked the beginning of the NCEU-MK by agreeing on the date of the First Plenary Session, which coincided with the first official visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia. Slovakia, Mr.Ivan Korcok.
The first plenary session of the NCEU-MK
The plenary session was held on November 9, 2017 at the premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event was attended by around 115 representatives from different social domains (senior officials, diplomatic corps, representatives of civic associations, guests from the neighboring countries engaged in the NCEU, representatives of the civil sector and other relevant stakeholders) as well as the media.
In the opening part of the conference the president of EDRM, prof. Mileva Gjurovska addressed the meeting as well as Slovak State Secretary and Acting Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Ivan Korchok, US Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia Jess Bailey, Lukash Holub of the Delegation of the European Union to Skopje, Nikola Dimitrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Affairs, Artan Grubi, President of the Committee on European Affairs at the Assembly of Macedonia and Tomaž Stražaj, the project manager and representative of the Association Foreign Policy of Slovakia (SFPA).
The working part of the conference was attended by experts engaged in the working groups of the National Convention of the EU in the Republic of Macedonia, who spoke each in the field in which, with its expertise, it will participate in the work of one of the four working groups. This part of the Conference was chaired by prof.Trpe Stojanovski from the European Movement in Macedonia and the director of the Slovak Association for Foreign Policy, Aleksandar Duleba, Ivan Knezevic from the European Movement Serbia and the representative of the European Movement in Montenegro, Momcilo Radulovic also addressed the audience.
In this part of the conference experts of the four working groups also made their addresses: Prof.Aleksandra Martinova, Faculty of Agriculture and Food, Prof.Nano Ruzin from the Fon University, Mr.Simonida Kacarska from the Institute for European, Mr.Andrej Lepavtsev from the Pan-European Union in the Republic of Macedonia and Blerim Reka from the University of South East Europe.
Study visit to the NCEU-MK team of Bratislava
A working group from EDRM was on study visit to the Slovak Republic from December 11-16, 2017, in order to get acquainted with the details of the functioning of the Slovak National Convention in order to try to apply the Slovak practice in the Macedonian society. Representatives of EDRM had the opportunity to meet relevant stakeholders that were part of the implementation of the existing National Convention on the EU- representatives of the competent institutions: Ministries, Agencies, Parliament, President’s Cabinet, as well as academic circles and the civil society. They all emphasized the positive experiences and benefits of establishing this model of social dialogue for the European integration in Slovakia, and expressed their satisfaction with the knowledge that it will be applied in the Republic of Macedonia, implemented by the EDRM. Professor Aneta Villaghi of the University of Comenius, coordinator of the NCEU-Slovakia, spoke about the necessity of the Convention’s co-operation with the media and the public because they are key to achieving the role of the Convention as a platform for a broad social dialogue on the European future of the country and as a successful tool for achieving a social consensus on the most important steps of the state. In fact, one of the slogans of the Slovak convention speaks of: Nothing about us without us!
The representatives of the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr.Jan Pšenica and Mr.Henrik Markus discussed the current political situation in Macedonia, the EU perspectives and the possibilities for using the Slovak experience, knowledge and expertise on the Macedonia’s path to the EU, Mrs. Klara Rundova from the Slovak delegation to the EU discussed the current topics related to Slovakia’s position in the Union, the challenges they face and how much the Convention created space for dialogue on important topics in the Slovak public today. The political situation in our country was discussed with the representative of the Slovakian President’s Office, Mr. Vit Koziak as well as the perspectives of the European integration process and the importance of the National Convention project as a strong social dialogue tool.
Ms. Ana Plasat Mourinova, Director in the Development and Assistance Department of the SlovakAid agency, which is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, introduced the EDRM delegation to the activities of the Agency aimed to support the implementation of the project for the National Convention on the EU in the Republic of Macedonia, expressing pleasure with the fact that such a positive example as the Slovak will be of benefit in the Macedonian way to the EU. Mr. Martin Klus, an MP from the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Slovak Parliament, conveyed in detail the Slovak experience of the role and involvement of parliament in the process of building a social consensus on Slovakia’s entry into the EU. HE also spoke of the way in which that process then influenced the relations between political factors in the country. The EDRM delegation also took part in the international conference held in Bratislava under the title “How to understand the Brexit?”
On December 26, 2017, the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia a meeting of the experts from the working groups, the members of the program council, the coordinators and the chairpersons of the working groups of the National Convention on the European Union of the Republic of Macedonia was held. There were 18 participants at the meeting, among whom representatives of relevant ministries, non-governmental organizations, experts and co-chairpersons of individual working groups and members of the European Movement of the Republic of Macedonia in the role of a secretariat. The meeting was chaired by the President of the European Movement in the Republic of Macedonia, prof. Dr. Mileva Gjurovska. Members of the European Movement of the Republic of Macedonia, also members of the Program Council presented the basic principles of the project, the stakeholders, the organizational structure, the activities of the holders of individual positions, the goals, the expectations and the plans for the realization of the project.
Within the presentation, the media strategy and the rules for managing the realization of the activities of the working groups were introduced to the members of the NKEU-MK. The discussion was attended by prof. Dr. Blerim Reka, former judge at the International Court of Human Rights Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska, prof. Prof. Dr. Nano Ruzin, prof. Prof. Trpe Stojanovski, Ambassador Muhamed Halili, Representative of the Ministry of the Interior Sasko Kocev, prof. Dr. Aleksandra Martinovska Stojcevska and an expert from the first Working Group on Agriculture and Rural Development, Biljana Mitrevska.
At the beginning of 2018, all four working groups were established, hold working meetings and the co-chairmen of the groups and the names of the experts who will participate in their work were introduced. It was also agreed on the manner and dynamics of the activities, and topics to be discussed from the domain of the operation of each of the working groups were identified and agreed upon.