On October 19, 2023, in the premises of the Alexander Palace Hotel, the second Regional Expert Conference was held, within the framework of the “Let Justice Rule the Region” project, which covers the regional issues covered by Cluster 1.
The conference was opened by Professor Mileva Gjurovska, National Coordinator of NCEU-MK, who welcomed the attendees and indicated the importance of the conference, which aims to strengthen regional cooperation, with a focus on reforms in justice, security, prevention and the fight against corruption, and implementation of European values in the three countries of the region, North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania.
The conference began with the opening address of Slavica Grkovska, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of good governance policies, who began with the problem of the great delay in our European path. The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that she is aware that when the mechanisms for the rule of law are insufficient or ineffective, it feeds corruption, deepens discrimination and affects stability.
Bojana Selakovic, National Coordinator of NCEU – Serbia, in the role of co-chair, welcomed the attendees and pointed out the importance of the conference, which serves as a platform for transferring the acquired knowledge from Serbia to other countries, and also vice versa. Selakovic also thanked the Dutch Embassy, for their ongoing support of the project, and announced Dirk Jan Kop, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic of North Macedonia.
In his opening address, Jan Kop emphasized that after all these years there is a strategy for everything, there are two action plans for everything, everyone’s awareness has already increased three times and everyone has already been trained four times. However, we stand still due to lack of implementation, corruption and nepotism. The ambassador emphasized that the Netherlands was and will continue to be a partner for the region on their way to the EU. But “the situation in the justice sector has left us with no other option but to evaluate the support that we are giving,” he added.
Gledis Gjipali, National Coordinator of NCEU-Albania, in the role of co-chairm clarified that although reforms are the most important point of focus, in the past years there have been obstacles from the side of the Union as well.
The first panel discussion, on the topic “The challenges of the Western Balkans regarding the Rule of Law and Good Governance – progress and obstacles”, was opened by Aleksandra Deanoska – Trendafilova, Coordinator of Working Group -3 (Chapter 23), Professor at the “Justinian First” Faculty of Law -University “St. Cyril and Methodius” – Skopje, who in the role of moderator of the discussion, added that legal laws should be an expression of universal values, principles and human rights of citizens in a society, and their application should be non-selective, transparent and equal for all.
After her presentation, Deanoska-Trendafilova announced Nirvana Deliu, Policy Researcher at European Movement Albania, who, in her role as moderator of the first panel discussion, clarified that when it comes to the rule of law, even the Union has its own problems, such as the decline of democracy, problems with corruption and justice. Deliu added that the good news is that as many as 4 out of 6 countries of the Western Balkans region are already in the phase of open negotiations with the Union, and this conference is an excellent opportunity to share experience, increase efficiency, and show the Union that we are starting with reforms.
In this context, the next panelist, Snezhana Kaleska-Vancheva, Chairperson of the Legislative committee in the Assembly of North Macedonia, agreed that the rule of law and good governance are two sides of the same coin, adding that the most important thing is to have a transparent process, because even if we have the best legal solution, which is impossible, if the citizens do not see it transparently, and cannot understand, then something will always remain floating in the air.
After the presentation, Natasa Dragojlovic, Advisor to the Minister of European Integration of the Republic of Serbia, spoke, thanked the organizers, pointing out that this is not only a project, but also an example that the Western Balkans can and should cooperate, and that this is the only way to show the Union that we understand what the essence of the Union is, and that the states by themselves mean nothing individually, not even Germany, but the strength of these states is in the well-organized community they have.
Deanoska – Trendafilova announced as the next speaker, Geron Kamberi, Senior Research Associate, Center for the Study of Democracy and Governance, Republic of Albania, who started his presentation with the view that we should not only incorporate EU policies into the daily life of citizens, but also the way of life of the Union. He retorted to the Dutch Ambassador, explaining that we do not have the rule of law because of the history shared by all the countries in the Western Balkans, and the remnants of the old regimes. About the rule of law, the most important thing for us is to prepare a map according to which the same will be measured, and indicators according to which we will measure, because none of this is yet well defined.
The discussion focused on the rule of law, for which those present agreed that it is impossible without good justice, and the state should apply all mechanisms and punish those who deviate from the rule of law. The discussion also turned to the assembly that does not control the government, the judiciary and prosecution that are not independent and ineffective, and the disappointing crisis of the judicial council.
The conference continued with the second panel discussion, on the topic “The state of the national public policies in the domain of judiciary and fundamental rights, justice, security, transparency of public finances and other relevant topics in the cluster Fundamentals”, moderated by Marina Mitrevska, NCEU-MK coordinator of Working Group –4 (Chapter 24), Professor, Institute for Security, Defense and Peace, Faculty of Philosophy and Kristina Kalajdzic, Researcher and Project Coordinator, Partneri Serbia.
Mitrevska thanked the attendees for the fruitful discussion so far, and started the second panel, announcing Magdalena Nestorovska, State Secretary, Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia, who in her presentation pointed out the negative atmosphere and emotions spreading throughout the hall, and referred to the positive characteristics, that is, how the state sector cooperates so successfully with the non-governmental sector, such as the National Convention, and how in a subtle way, with the recommendations that were carried, it led to the channeling of activities and to successful results in the field of security.
Kristina Kalajdzic, Researcher and Project Coordinator, Partners Serbia, indicated that although it is difficult in this short time to explain all the problems and come to great solutions, this conference is still a good opportunity to share experiences and start greater cooperation between the countries in The Western Balkans. Kalajdzic also announced the next speaker, Anxhela Kenaj, Ministry of Justice, Republic of Albania.
In his presentation, Kenaj indicated integration as the most important process for all three states, but also that all three states are in the same phase of the accession negotiations. She referred to the strengthening of the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organized crime, which are the foundations of the new framework for accession negotiations. In that regard, Albania also had to adopt a comprehensive judicial reform in order to strengthen the rule of law and achieve progress in compliance with the Copenhagen criteria by changing more than a third of its constitution as a prerequisite for opening accession negotiations.
The next speaker, Milutin Milosevic, Executive Director, Drug Policy Network of South East Europe, Republic of Serbia, who explained that the non-governmental sector plays an indispensable role in accession negotiations, because by being a non-governmental sector it automatically has more freedom and flexibility than the governmental, which is limited by certain rules, which is one of the most important characteristics for non-governmental organizations. He also pointed to the influence of politics in the work of public organizations that should be independent from parties, and that should fight for people’s rights.
The second discussion focused on transparency and public policies, and it was emphasized that this is a time for bold statesmanship decisions, but also a time for mobilization: to activate the public administration which is the main driving force of reforms, and the conclusion was reached that we cannot achieve rule of law as long as there is an “I” between the three authorities – the three authorities should work together and not constantly call each other out.
The conference ended with additional comments from the participants and proposals for future cooperation between the three countries, who referred to today’s conference, noting that it is an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas, and an additional incentive to dedicate ourselves to the rule of law in each of our countries, and to cooperate with each other and to motivate each other in the future.
Сподели
