Deputy PM for European Affairs Bojan Maricic held on Thursday a coordination meeting with civil society representatives, explaining the screening process along with a brief overview of current activities of the Secretariat for European Affairs ahead of preparations for the screening meetings which are due in three weeks.

I am convinced that civil society organizations will make a significant contribution to the implementation of reforms and progress towards EU membership. The civil sector is a recognized partner of the Government in this process. This partnership and sincere cooperation between the state and the civil sector is one of the prerequisites for the successful use of EU structural funds, said Vice Prime Minister Maricic, adding that civil society organizations should prepare for participation, and for the use and greater absorption of EU funds.

At the meeting, Vice Prime Minister Maricic opened a discussion about the modality and the way in which the representatives of the civil society organizations will be involved in this process, for which they will have to jointly agree, and indicated that the Secretariat for European Affairs has already hired a regional expert through the project Nordic support for the progress of Macedonia, which would help in defining the cooperation, setting up a platform for the inclusion of civil society representatives in the working groups from the very beginning of the accession negotiations.