On the 26th of September, 2019 in the Assembly of Republic of North Macedonia, began the third Plenary Conference of the National Convention of the European Union in the Republic of North Macedonia. The topic of this conference in the fight against corruption.
he Conference started according to the Agenda, with the Official Opening Panel. The chair of the Conference, Prof. d-r Mileva Gjurovska – National coordinator of NCEU-MK, acknowledged everyone present and expressed her gratitude to the speakers of the panel. In her speech, she explained in brief what the National Convention is, and the work they have done in the past two years. She underlined that unlike any other platform in this Country, “NCEU-MK creates new value in the European integration process, developing and implementing a strategy for joint action of the all relevant stakeholders, such as the Government, relevant institutions, CSO’s, business sector, syndicates, Universities, local governments, farmers and ordinary citizens.”
The President of the Republic of North Macedonia, H.E. Stevo Pendarovski, expressed that it is his honor to speak at the Conference, particularly on a topic that is of utmost relevance for the Country. “Corruption is a disease of society, and like any other serious disease if not treated on time, in the right manner, it can infest itself in all sectors of social life, and leave unforeseeable consequences on the democracy”, said President Pendarovski. His excellency noted that economic development and zero tolerance for corruption must be the top priorities for any government and that successfully addressing these challenges requires uniting the potential and support of all of us, the government, and the opposition, the business sector, civil society organisations, and the media. Citizens are losing faith in the system. The judiciary must play their part and provide a timely and just response to the challenges before them, independent from political interference. He ended his speech by underlining that we should not wait for another day, we cannot afford the luxury of having a superficial or relaxed approach to corruption.
Edvard Kukan offered his personal views on the political situation in the Republic of North Macedonia and the decisions in the near future that will substantially affect the European integration of Macedonia to the EU. The former member of the European Parliament stated that the National convention on the European Union in the Republic of North Macedonia is a very successful project. It is an open, comprehensive forum for reaching a broad consensus for questions regarding the accession negotiation process. “We are three weeks away from the middle of October when the European Council will meet to discuss and adopt a decision about the future of North Macedonia”. His advice is not to immediately start celebrating when receiving the date for the start of the negotiations, mostly because the work is not done. The process of EU accession is a long and difficult path but in the end, the membership of the EU will bring great benefits to the citizens of North Macedonia.
Nikola Poposki, Chair of the National European Integration Council at the Assembly stressed that euro-integration is a serious and long challenge and it can serve as a possibility for a significant change in the country. Poposki noted that the member countries of the EU are making the decision by the political elite and the public opinion in each country. If they see us as problematic, criminal, destructive it is understandable that they would not want us in the EU. This is why we need to develop an image of a country with European values in a European future.
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrej Zernovski invited us to question ourselves about where is North Macedonia and what have we have achieved so far. Many reports on the progress of North Macedonia witness that we are making an improvement in many areas and that we are ready to handle all the challenges of one young democracy and chapters 23 and 24. We are ready to transform our society to respecting European values and rules. “We have a fantastic chance, all of us together to demonstrate that the fight for justice pays off and that impunity is something that cannot continue.”
The USAID representative, Erik Janowski expressed support on the North Macedonia path to euro-integration. He believes that completing the necessary reforms and meeting EU membership requirements will foster stability and unleash North Macedonia’s economic potential. Janowski said that USAID is committed to working with the Government of North Macedonia and other partners in the country to meet the development goals necessary for this greater integration. “The National Convention on the European Union with its four working groups is an excellent platform for all stakeholders in the country, from the government to civil society to the private sector, to show a genuine commitment to furthering the EU accession agenda. It is of utmost importance to transfer the recommendations from the working groups into action plans and real results.”
The director of SFPA, Slovak Foreign Policy Association, Tomas Strazay stated that this plenary session marks the end of phase one from the project National Convention. Thankfully, with the help of USAID and SlovakAid, we will continue with the realization of the project in the next two years. In the second phase of the project, there will be one significant change, the European Movement-North Macedonia will be the main implementer of the project and SFPA will only be a partner. We wish luck to the European Movement-North Macedonia and we thank USAID for their support.” Strazay stated that the role of SPFA will be to find Slovak experts to convey their expertise in different areas. So far, the experts that were part of NCEU-MK have experienced a true dialogue and were very satisfied with the sessions and the professionalism and expertise on the local level.
In the second part of the conference, participants debated on: How against Corruption? This session was moderated by Aleksandra Deanoska-Trendafilova, and the panelists shared their experiences from past practice and future views on the following topics: “European Court of Human Rights Practice on Confiscation of illegally acquired property “, “How to fight corruption? – UK Experiences”, “Confiscation of Corruption Practices in the Republic of Northern Macedonia”, “Regional Corruption Initiative (RAI) “RAI’s Role in Fighting Corruption”, “Strengthening Anticorruption in South East Europe by Improving Seizure Measures “and “Corruption Prevention Experiences in the Republic of Northern Macedonia”.
Discussions emphasized that organized crime is flourishing, and criminal groups linked to corruption are among the most resilient. Fraud, bribery, market abuse, money laundering and money transfer as well as illegally acquired assets, are global problems. Corruption is pervasive in every society and that is why it is necessary to develop a new strategy, the existence of laws, and most importantly their implementation in the fight against corruption internationally.
The final session, moderated by Professor Blerim Reka, was devoted to work commitments that highlight the great importance of the National Convention for the EU as a finalization of the first cycle.
In the end, it was emphasized that the National Convention on the EU is the only civil platform that operates in four chapters of the negotiation process. For the purpose of approaching the public on all that has been prepared, all the discussions, conclusions, recommendations in the Convention, one publication has been produced: “Book of Recommendations of the NCEU-MK”. It provides an expert analysis of what the chapters are about and what needs to be considered in the consideration of these chapters.