|
Chiarini
presents
Annual
Report
of
EC
for
Republic
of
Macedonia
Macedonian
Information
Agency
(Apr
01,
2004,
3:06:43
PM
(GMT+01:00)) (MIA) -
Chief
of
European
Commission
delegation
for
Macedonia,
Donato
Chiarini
presented
Wednesday
the
Annual
Report
of
the
European
Commission
for
Macedonia
before
the
Parliament
Committee
for
European
Affairs.
"Macedonia
is
ahead
of
a
difficult
task,
meaning
that
it
needs
to
be
modernized
and
reformed
at
the
same
time",
Chiarini
stressed.
He
added
that
the
implementation
of
the
Framework
Agreement
is
at
the
top
of
the
priorities
that
the
European
Commission
sets
before
the
country.
"This
is
a
European
spring
for
Macedonia
from
several
aspects.
Firstly,
there
is
the
application
for
EU
membership,
while
the
Stabilization
and
Association
Agreement
goes
into
effect
from
April
1,
thus
making
Macedonia
the
first
country
that
signed
this
agreement
and
entirely
encircled
this
process",
Chiarini
stated
before
the
Committee
members.
However,
Chiarini
had
remarks
on
the
functioning
of
the
governing
structures,
pointing
out
that
judiciary
should
be
reformed,
which
would
be
of
essential
significance
for
the
country's
accession
in
EU.
He
also
criticized
the
bad
economic
situation,
recommending
that
the
Government
should
identify
the
key
problems
and
find
mechanisms
for
improvement.
"It
is
not
normal
for
a
country
with
such
resources
not
to
improve
the
economic
situation,
and
its
improvement
will
change
the
citizens'
mood",
Chiarini
stated.
Chiarini
also
informed
that
instead
of
the
prior
policy
for
giving
recommendations,
the
European
Commission
approved
the
first
European
Partnerships
for
Western
Balkans
in
2004,
which
according
to
him,
are
an
important
step
between
EU
and
Western
Balkans'
countries,
as
well
as
a
guideline
for
European
integration.
"This
is
the
first
set
of
European
Partnerships,
which
will
be
issued
each
year,
being
an
incentive
for
the
countries
in
the
region",
Chiarini
stressed.
Regarding
the
issue
of
the
visa
regime
with
the
EU
member-countries,
Chiarini
estimated
that
the
answer
to
this
problem
is
linked
to
the
progress
in
the
area
of
justice
and
internal
affairs.
The
European
Commission
officially
published
the
Annual
Report
for
the
Republic
of
Macedonia
on
Tuesday,
which
mainly
provides
remarks
to
the
Macedonian
authorities
for
inefficiency
of
judiciary
and
high
degree
of
corruption.
The
European
Commission
positively
assesses
the
Government
activities
in
2003,
although,
"the
implementation
of
the
Framework
Agreement
is
one
of
the
conditions
in
order
to
make
any
kind
of
progress
in
the
Stabilization
and
Association
Process".
The
European
Commission
also
positively
estimates
the
Census
of
the
population,
which
is,
"one
of
the
future
steps
in
the
full
implementation
of
the
Framework
Agreement".
EC
hails
the
equitable
representation
of
minorities
in
the
public
administration,
as
well
as
the
use
of
their
language
in
administration
and
its
use
in
the
personal
identification
documents.
Brussels
also
greets
the
recognition
of
the
Tetovo
University,
but
the
problem
with
the
doubling
of
the
educational
institutions
remains.
"There
must
be
a
solution
in
between
the
Tetovo
and
the
Southeast
Europe
Universities",
the
report
reads.
"Decentralization
is
the
basic
challenge
for
the
country,
which
has
two
objectives
-
to
bring
the
power
closer
to
the
people,
and
to
improve
public
services.
This
success
depends
on
the
rationalization
of
the
volume
and
number
of
municipalities,
in
order
to
increase
their
fiscal
and
management
capabilities",
the
European
Commission
Report
states.
©
2000
MIA
-
Macedonian
Information
Agency.
All
Rights
Reserved.
This
material
may
not
be
published,
broadcast,
rewritten
or
redistributed
in
any
form
except
with
the
prior
express
permission
of
Macedonian
Information
Agency.
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