President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova received Amer Kapetanovic, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, the operational body of the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), whose first destination on the tour is Skopje.
Pointing out the importance of regional cooperation, President Siljanovska-Davkova stressed the need of economic and infrastructure connectivity, the benefits of a common regional market and the need to integrate the region into the single European market.
She expects the Growth Plan and the reform agenda to stimulate the development of the Western Balkans through changes in specific areas, supported by European financial resources, the allocation of which is linked to their implementation within precisely defined deadlines.
The interlocutors agreed that mutual respect and understanding are a condition for successful cooperation in a number of areas that would lead to a higher level of meeting the needs of citizens through the fulfillment of the Copenhagen criteria and a change in the narrative and attitude of the EU towards us.
Kapetanovic thanked President Siljanovska-Davkova for the successful chairmanship of last year’s SEECP Summit, the efforts to maintain the credibility of this regional initiative and the smooth continuation of the process. He expressed satisfaction with the constructiveness of the Macedonian authorities and explained the intention of the Council to establish a Catalogue of Common Interests.
At the same time, the Secretary General informed about the upcoming Digital Summit for the Western Balkans, which is expected to stimulate the dynamics of regional cooperation in the field of digitalization.
At the meeting, views were shared on the current political situation in the EU, the problem of the Union’s double standards, the justification of which is sought in consensual decision-making.
Given the dramatic geopolitical changes, the President believes that enlargement should be a priority for the EU more than ever, which requires debilateralization of the process and evaluation according to the implementation of the Copenhagen criteria.
Siljanovska-Davkova and Kapetanovic pointed out the danger of bilateralization of the European integration by neighbors based on the abuse of the veto, identity pressures and attempts to revise history.
At the meeting, opinions and proposals were exchanged for a step forward from patriarchal and submissive politics and a step towards a participatory and democratic political culture, for the imperative of de-partisanship and depoliticization of state and public administration, for the fight against corruption and crime, for the necessity of an independent judiciary, for the rule of law.
