commissioner fÜle visited skopje in the...
TRANSCRIPT
eu newsletter january - march 2010
Commissioner Füle visited Skopje on 19 February, barely one week after taking up office, to encourage the country’s authorities to maintain and further intensify the efforts on the EU reform agenda as well as to actively pursue the talks on the name issue with Greece under the UN auspices. The visit took place in the context of the European Commission’s recommendation to open EU accession negotiations with the country, which on 10 February received the wide backing of the European Parliament. Mr Füle got his messages across through comprehensive media coverage. The new commissioner for enlargement and neighbourhood policy had meetings with PM Gruevski (with whom he had a joint press conference), President Ivanov, Speaker Veljanovski, the leader of the opposition party SDSM (Mr Crven-kovski) and the leader of the coalition party DUI (Mr Ahmeti).
Delegation of the European Union, Skopje o 1/2010
january - march ‘10
COMMISSIONER FÜLE VISITED SKOPJE IN THE FIRST WEEK OF HIS MANDATE
check who is who in the European Commission 2010-2014 on page 6
New European Commission took office
On 9 February, MEPs ap-proved the 26 candidates for the European Commission, enabling President Barroso’s new team to get down to business.
Financing agreement of the rural development component of the IPA signed
The 2007-2010 financial agreement supports invest-ments within agricultural production, processing, and marketing, as well as diver-sification and development of the rural economy, for an overall amount of € 42 mil-lions. continues on page 5
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- Financing agreement of the rural development component of the pre-accession assistance signed
- 7th Meeting of the JPC and first ever AFET visit to the country- PM Gruevski visit to the European Institutions
- Setting up a national digital radio system for the police
- EU support to the work of the state statistical office
- EU support to a modernised and effective customs Administration in line with EU standards and best practices
- Support to a more efficient and modern operation of the administrative court
- EU boosts better regulation in the energy sector- Strengthening the capacity of the General Secretariat
public administration reform and NGO cooperation
- European commission urges Roma social inclusion- Michel Platini: football and local authorities working
together will score on social inclusion- Renewed impetus for food security:
The EU tackles hunger in developing countries
- New European Commission college took office
EU Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 5, 8 to 10
EU Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6 to 7
News from Brussels . . . . . . . . page 11
EU InfoCentre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . back page
Spanish 2010
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7th MEETING OF THE JPC AND FIRST EVER AFET VISIT TO THE COUNTRY
The 7th meeting of Joint Parliamen-tary Committee took place in Sko-pje under the new co-chairmanship of MEP Jorgos Chatzimarkakis and MP Spasenovski. A very construc-tive atmosphere prevailed during the meeting. Judicial reform, anti-cor-ruption policy, public administration reform, inter-ethnic relations, eco-nomic development, environment and infrastructure, and management of IPA funds were the topics for an intensive exchange of views among the MEPs and the MPs. The Joint Par-liamentary Committee addressed the following issues:- the relations between the European Union and the Republic of Macedo-nia;- the situation of the judiciary and the functioning of public administra-tion;- inter-community relations;- the economy and the reforms made in view of assuming the obligations of EU membership
At the press conference, the Com-missioner called on the country to take advantage of the ‘unique win-dow of opportunity’ in the next few months, saying that the EU did not have a back-up plan if a solution was not found by June, as previously rec-
ommended by the EU Council of Min-isters. ‘There is a window of oppor-tunity, which is open for plan A. I am convinced that both governments will do everything within their power to use this window, thus eliminating the possibility of a plan B’, the Commis-
sioner stressed. Mr Füle underlined that although the name issue was bilateral, it clearly had regional im-plications; therefore, he voiced hope that the countries’ leaders would find a solution.
Mr Füle also addressed the Joint Parliamentary Committee between the country and the EU (which con-vened in Skopje on 18/19 February), stressing that he was fully commit-ted to the country’s European future and that results achieved at home would ‘lead’ Skopje to Brussels. In his view, the European Commission’s recommendation for setting a date for opening accession negotiations should be perceived as a strong in-centive for final settlement of the name issue. He commended the enormous political will of the MEPs to continue the historic project of the EU’s enlargement.
In terms of reforms, Mr Füle stressed that ‘words should turn into deeds’. He underlined the need for further efforts in the areas of public admin-istration, judiciary, fight against cor-ruption and the implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement.
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Commissioner Füle met with President Ivanov
Commissioner Füle, MP Aleksandar Spasenovski and MEP Jorgos Chatzimarkakis at the joint parliamentary committee meeting
eu newsletter
On March 24, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski had separate meetings in Brussels with European Council Pres-ident Herman Van Rompuy, Europe-an Parliament President Jerzy Buzek and Enlargement Commissioner Ste-fan Füle.
Mr Van Rompuy encouraged Prime Minister Gruevski to continue with the EU-integration process and ex-pressed hope that the name issue will be solved soon.
Similar messages were also deliv-ered at the meetings that Prime Minister Gruevski had with President Buzek and Commissioner Füle.
- I have encouraged Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski to work on finding a mutually acceptable solution to the name row, Mr Buzek said after the meeting. He also congratulated Gruevski for continuing with the re-forms in order to speed up the coun-try’s integration in the EU.
On his side Mr. Gruevski said that he presented the country’s stra-tegic projects, activities related to the economy, fight against corrup-tion, crime, education, interethnic relations and implementation of the Ohrid Agreement.
“We are doing and will keep doing our best for settling the name issue, because we wish to normalise the re-lations with Athens, to become NATO member and start the EU accession talks”, Gruevski said.
At the meeting with Mr. Gruevski Commissioner Füle welcomed the country’s efforts to continue with the reforms particulary in the field judiciary and public administration. Commissioner Füle also welcomed the country’s efforts to deal with the economic crisis. On his side Prime Minister Gruevski once again ex-pressed gratitude for the EU’s deci-sion to cancel the Visa Regime for the country.
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- environmental policies and trans-port infrastructure, including cross-border cooperation aspects;- management of EU funds, with a particular view to the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA).
Ambassador Fouéré and DG Elarg Di-rector Ms Cas Granje participated in the exchange of views at the open-ing session of JPC with the Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration and Minister of Foreign Affairs on the re-lations between the country and the EU and the fulfilment of the political criteria.
Delegation to the country led by MEP A. Peterle (EPP and former Slovenian PM) included MEP Zoran Taler, Par-liament’s reporteur for the country. Their presence and interaction with the national authorities was echoed in public. The delegation met with: the country leadership; the leader of DUI (ethnic Albanian coalition party); the leader of SDSM (main opposition party); MPs from the Committee on Foreign Affairs; National Council for European Integration; MPs from the smaller communities; representa-tives of the NGOs; anti-corruption authorities. They also visited the Academy for training of Judges and Prosecutors,
a body supported by successive EU funded projects.
The address of Commissioner Füle to the JPC (attended by the mem-bers of the AFET delegation and MPs from the Committees on European Affairs and on Foreign Policy as well as the full composition of the Na-tional Council for EU Integration) reiterated the special attention paid by the European Union to the coun-try. The resolution on the progress of the country adopted by the Euro-pean Parliament on 10 February was echoed in the meetings the JPC and AFET delegations had with the na-tional authorities.
PM GRUEVSKI VISIT TO THE EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS
First ever visit of foreign affairs committee (AFET)
Prime Minister Gruevski and Europe-an Council President van Rompuy
European Parliament president Jerzy Buzek
Enlargement Commissioner Füle
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EU Assistance
EU A
ssistance
On 2 March 2010, the EU Special Representative and Head of Delega-tion of the European Union, Erwan Fouéré and the Deputy Prime Min-ister in charge of European Affairs, Vasko Naumovski, signed the 2007-2010 financial agreement for the rural development (component V) of the EU pre-accession assistance programme (IPARD). This will en-able the implementation of opera-tions supporting investments in agri-cultural production, processing, and marketing, as well as diversification and development of the rural econ-omy, for an overall amount of € 42 millions. The implementation of the IPA Rural Development component will also serve as a learning-by-doing process, allowing the country to ful-ly benefit from the extensive funds available to the rural sector through the Common Agricultural Policy upon Accession.
In February 2008, the European Commission adopted the National Agriculture and Rural Development Plan (the IPARD Operational Pro-gramme 2007-2009). Its overall ob-
jective is to support implementation of policies to promote a competitive and sustainable agriculture; develop strong and sustainable rural com-munities, and diverse and sustain-able rural environment. In addition, the IPA Rural Development Compo-nent supports the preparation for implementation of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) including management of the European Agri-cultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
As for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, man-agement of the IPARD programmes is the responsibility of the national authorities. The Ministry of Agricul-ture, Forestry, and Water Economy, together with the Ministry of Fi-nance, has to ensure the existence of a sound financial management and control system of EU tax pay-ers’ money. To this end, they have undertaken for the past two years wide-ranging activities; establishing in this respect the Agency for Finan-cial Support in Agriculture and Rural Development (AFSARD) to ensure
the required structures, rules and procedures. On-going advisory mis-sions of the European Commission’s services were carried out to provide assistance to the authorities in build-ing up these necessary institutional, management and control capacities.
In September 2009, the Government submitted an application for confer-ral of management powers for the IPARD Programme. The European Commission reviewed the accredita-tion package and carried out a veri-fication audit on the spot. The objec-tive was to obtain assurance on the capacity of the various key players to undertake their responsibilities. The verification audit confirmed that stis-factory progress had been made.
In December 2009, the European Commission adopted a decision on conferring the management pow-ers for the IPARD Operational Pro-gramme to the national authorities of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Financing agreement of the rural development component of the pre-accession assistance signed
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EU Policies
EU Policies
NEW EUROPEAN COMMISSION COLLEGE TOOK OFFICE
On 9 February, the European Parlia-ment approved the 26 candidates for the European Commission, enabling President Barroso’s new team to get down to business.
The vote was 488 in favour, 137 against (with 72 abstaining), well over the majority required. The new Commission took up its du-ties on 10 February. The vote concluded a process that began in September 2009 when the President won parliamentary support for a second term. The new commission was supposed to take office in November 2009 but the appointment was held up mainly by the delayed ratification of the Lis-bon Treaty.
With Mr Barroso, the new line-up comprises 27 members, one from each EU country. Fourteen, including
the President, served in the previous executive. Their term lasts five years.
‘This is a time for boldness. This is a time to show our citizens that we care, and that the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty will make a real dif-ference in our ability to serve their interests. I believe that our economic and social situation demands a radi-cal shift from the status quo. And the new Treaty allows this. Our task is to use the new mechanics to bring on new dynamics’, Mr Barroso stressed in his speech before MEPs. His list of priorities included: making a success-ful exit from the crisis; leading on climate action and energy efficiency; boosting new sources of growth and social cohesion to renew the social market economy; advancing a peo-ple’s Europe with freedom and secu-rity; and opening a ‘new era for global Europe’. This is the first Commission to work
under the rules of the Lisbon Treaty, under which the EU’s foreign policy chief – Catherine Ashton, a former commissioner for trade – also serves as the Commission Vice-President for external relations.
Commission portfolios have been re-shaped in light of some new pri-orities. There is now a climate action portfolio, overseen by Denmark’s Connie Hedegaard, while humanitar-ian aid has been split from develop-ment. Consumer affairs have been reunited with the health portfolio, reversing a change made in 2007.
When it comes to newcomers to the Commission, Dacian Ciolos from Ro-mania is in charge of agriculture and rural development, while Maria Da-manaki of Greece oversees fisheries and maritime policy. France’s Michel Barnier – commissioner for regional policy in 1999-2004 – takes the in-ternal market and services portfolio while Günther Oettinger of Germany deals with energy. Algirdas Šemeta, a Lithuanian, leads on taxation and customs union, audit and anti-fraud. Poland’s Janusz Lewandowski deals with budget and financial program-ming. John Dalli of Malta is responsi-ble for the health and consumer pol-icy portfolio, and Cecilia Malmström of Sweden oversees home affairs. Štefan Füle, the Czech commission-er, is in charge of enlargement and the neighbourhood policy.
Several long-time or otherwise prominent commissioners have left the Commission. They include Günter Verheugen, commissioner for enterprise and industry and, in 1999-2004, for enlargement; Charlie McCreevy, commissioner for internal market and services; and Mariann Fischer Boel, commissioner for agri-culture and development.
Before taking up duties as a commissioner, Štefan Füle has served as a Czech Minister for European Affairs (2009) and as a First Deputy Minister of Defence (2001-2002). Previously he was ambassador of his country to NATO, the UK and Lithuania. He studied at the faculty of philosophy of Charles University in Prague and at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle
European Commission 2010–14
SiimKallasEstonian
Vice-President
Transport
KE
VVice-P
T
Joaquín Almunia
SpanishVice-President
Competition
A
Vi
Olli Rehn Finnish
Economic and Monetary
Affairs
Janez Potočnik
Slovenian
Environment
Maria Damanaki
Greek
Fisheries andMaritime Affairs
Štefan Füle Czech
Enlargementand European
NeighbourhoodPolicy
aNe
Andris Piebalgs
Latvian
Development
José ManuelBarroso
PortuguesePresident
Catherine Ashton
BritishVice-President
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy
High ReUnion
Antonio Tajani
ItalianVice-President
Industry and Entrepreneurship
Kristalina Georgieva
BulgarianInternational Cooperation,
Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response
Cecilia Malmström
Swedish
Home Affairs
Dacian Cioloş
Romanian
Agricultureand Rural
DevelopmentD
Johannes Hahn Austrian
RegionalPolicy
JohaHA
R
Connie Hedegaard
Danish
ClimateAction
He
John Dalli
Maltese
Health and Consumer
Policy
MáireGeoghegan-
Quinn Irish
Research andInnovation
Geog
R
Androulla Vassiliou
Cypriot
Education, Culture, Multilingualism
and Youth
AnV
EducM
Karel
Belgian
Trade
Viviane Reding
LuxembourgishVice-President
Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship
L
Justi
Algirdas Šemeta
Lithuanian
Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and
Anti-Fraud
AlgŠem
g
Lith
Taxation and CUnion, A
An
Neelie Kroes
DutchVice-President
Digital Agenda
a
László Andor
Hungarian
Employment,Social Affairs and Inclusion
Günther Oettinger
German
Energy
Janusz Lewandowski
Polish
FinancialProgramming
and Budget
Le
Michel Barnier
French
InternalMarket
and Services
Maroš Šefčovič
SlovakianVice-President Interinstitutional
Relations and Administration
The new Commission
eu newsletter january - march 2010European Commission 2010–14
SiimKallasEstonian
Vice-President
Transport
KE
VVice-P
T
Joaquín Almunia
SpanishVice-President
Competition
A
Vi
Olli Rehn Finnish
Economic and Monetary
Affairs
Janez Potočnik
Slovenian
Environment
Maria Damanaki
Greek
Fisheries andMaritime Affairs
Štefan Füle Czech
Enlargementand European
NeighbourhoodPolicy
aNe
Andris Piebalgs
Latvian
Development
José ManuelBarroso
PortuguesePresident
Catherine Ashton
BritishVice-President
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy
High ReUnion
Antonio Tajani
ItalianVice-President
Industry and Entrepreneurship
Kristalina Georgieva
BulgarianInternational Cooperation,
Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response
Cecilia Malmström
Swedish
Home Affairs
Dacian Cioloş
Romanian
Agricultureand Rural
DevelopmentD
Johannes Hahn Austrian
RegionalPolicy
JohaHA
R
Connie Hedegaard
Danish
ClimateAction
He
John Dalli
Maltese
Health and Consumer
Policy
MáireGeoghegan-
Quinn Irish
Research andInnovation
Geog
R
Androulla Vassiliou
Cypriot
Education, Culture, Multilingualism
and Youth
AnV
EducM
Karel
Belgian
Trade
Viviane Reding
LuxembourgishVice-President
Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship
L
Justi
Algirdas Šemeta
Lithuanian
Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and
Anti-Fraud
AlgŠem
g
Lith
Taxation and CUnion, A
An
Neelie Kroes
DutchVice-President
Digital Agenda
a
László Andor
Hungarian
Employment,Social Affairs and Inclusion
Günther Oettinger
German
Energy
Janusz Lewandowski
Polish
FinancialProgramming
and Budget
Le
Michel Barnier
French
InternalMarket
and Services
Maroš Šefčovič
SlovakianVice-President Interinstitutional
Relations and Administration
eu newsletter
Three project were launched with 18-month duration and a budget of 2.4 million EUR: 1) Reinforcement of Border Control Project; 2) Further Alignment of Legislation with the Acquis in the Field of Customs Project; 3) Improving the Custom’s IT System Project aim in modernising and improving the effec-tiveness of the Customs Administration in line with EU standards and best prac-tices. On 30 March 2010, EU Special Representative and Head of Delegation
of the European Union, Erwan Fouéré, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Zoran Stavreski, Director General of the Customs Administration, Vanco Kargov, the Head of International Cooperation Department, Customs Ad-ministration, Ilija Janoski and the Team Leader of the Technical Assistance for Improvement of Customs IT Systems project, Kevin Handley presented and discussed the importance of the three projects.
The main objective of the Customs Re-form projects, implemented by the Hu-man Dynamics Consortia and Lambard Management Consultants, is to support the Customs Administration in estab-lishing and sustaining the key position of customs as a modern and responsive partner to trade which protects fiscal, safety and security interests, cooper-ates with other government agencies and is equipped to exchange informa-tion electronically, quickly and glob-ally. The Customs Administration of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedo-nia is determined to comply with the “Customs Blueprints” drafted jointly by the European Commission’s Director-ate-General for Taxation and Customs Union and by the Member States. These blueprints are practical guidelines laying down criteria based on the best practice of the European Union, against which a customs administration can measure its own operational capacity.
The Customs Administration has benefit-ed since 1992 from various programmes of the European Union, such as the Cus-toms and Fiscal Assistance Office (CA-FAO), 2003 to 2007. The focus in the as-sistance programme has been directed on capacity building, data processing systems, procurement of equipment, reconstruction of border crossings, proj-ects on modernisation and development of the customs services.
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eu newsletter
EU A
ssistance
EU Assistance
EU support to a modernised and effective Customs Administration in line with EU standards and best practices
Setting up a national digital radio system for the policeOn 3 February 2010, the completion of the first phase of the EU-support-ed project “Supply of Police Digi-tal Radio Communication System” was marked at the Centre for Police Training in Idrizovo by Ambassador Erwan Fouéré, EU Special Represen-tative and Head of Delegation and Ms Gordana Jankuloska, Minister of Interior.
The EU-supported project “Supply of police digital radio communication system” aims to raise significantly the standards of the national digital radio system of the police in order to enhance the transfer of information and data between the police’s opera-tional branches and thus to provide support for the day-to-day operation of the Ministry of Interior’s services, optimising coverage in terms of pop-ulation and territory, including main highways, green border lines and in-ternational border-crossing points.
For this purpose the European Union has invested €9 million under the CARDS programme to support es-tablishing a digital radio communica-
tion system for the police. A second phase of the TETRA project is currently being initiated under IPA
2008 programme with approximately 5 million EUR and will be implement-ed over a period of 2 to 3 years.
Minister Jankulovska and Ambassador Fouere view the new digital equipment for the police
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EU A
ssistance
EU Assistance
Support to a more efficient and modern operation of the administrative court
An IPA 2007 project on “Support to more efficient, effective and modern operation and functioning of the Ad-ministrative Court” started its activi-ties in January 2010. The project has a budget of approximately 1.1 mil-lion EUR and will have a duration of 2 years.
The activities of the project are grouped in 4 components:1. Improvement of the implementa-tion of the legislation on administra-tive disputes and of the enforcement of Administrative Court’s decisions.2. Strengthening of the organisa-tional capacity of the Administrative Court, focusing on court, case and human resources management.3. Reinforcement of the profession-al skills of the Administrative Court staff (focusing on judges’, legal as-sociates’ and supporting staff’s skills and capacity).4. Improvement of the IT case man-agement system, notably by improv-ing the interconnection between the Administrative Court and other state bodies.
The project, implemented by the Fundacion Internacional Y Para Iberoamerica De Administracion Y Politicas Publicas, provides direct ad-visory support to the Administrative Court to appraise and step up the implementation of the reformed legal framework. Through the provision of advisory support, technical assis-tance and training, the ongoing or-ganisational and operational reforms of the administrative dispute proce-dure shall be further strengthened. In particular, the support targets the consolidation of the administrative legal framework, human resources management, operational efficiency and effectiveness, court and case management, as well as transpar-ency in activity of the Administrative Court.
EU boosts better regulation in the energy sectorOn 25 March 2010, a kick-off work-shop of an EU-funded Twinning proj-ect entitled “Institutional strength-ening of the Energy Regulatory Commission” (ERC) officially marked the start of this 16-month proj-ect. With an overall budget of EUR 600,000, this twinning is expected to achieve the following outcomes:
• Introduction of an effective license compliance monitoring system for the generation of electricity and heat; the transmission of electricity and natural gas; the distribution of electricity, heat and natural gas; the supply, trade and cross-border trans-mission (import, export, transit) of electricity, and adequate training on the compliance monitoring system;
• Establishment of market monitor-ing mechanisms that ensure non-
discrimination, effective competition and the efficient functioning of the market;
• Review and implementation of quality management procedures, ad-dressing inter alia internal commu-nication procedures, archiving and document management procedures, as well as internal rules to reduce the risk of corrupt behaviour; and
• Cooperation with relevant stake-holders, enhancing the stakeholder network and improving the coopera-tion between the ERC and relevant bodies at national, regional and Eu-ropean level.
This twinning project is implemented by the Austrian energy regulator E-Control.
EU support to the work of the state statistical officeFrom February 2010 until Febru-ary 2012, project experts from the Consortium lead by ASA Institut für Sektoranalyse und Politikberatung GmbH, the German Federal Statisti-cal Office (DESTATIS) and the Czech Statistical Office - will provide sup-port and guidance to the State Sta-tistical Office and its partners in the national statistical system, most no-tably the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, to improve the range
and the quality of official statistics and further harmonise them with the EU Acquis and international stan-dards.
The objectives of the project “Techni-cal Assistance to the State Statistical Office” address the priorities of the Accession Partnership, aiming to fur-ther strengthen the State Statistical Office’s capacity in ensuring timely implementation of the next popula-
tion census and allowing continuous development of national accounts and their underlying statistics. Fur-thermore, this 1.8 million EUR worth project aims to address remaining gaps in collection and processing of agricultural statistics and business statistics in line with EU standards and methodology, as well as to in-crease reporting of statistical data to Eurostat.
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EU Assistance
Strengthening the capacity of the General Secretariat for public administration reform and NGO cooperation
The Project “Strengthening the Capac-ity of the General Secretariat – Sector for Policy Analysis and Coordination - Unit for Public Administration Reform and Unit for NGO Cooperation” was launched on 24 February 2010. The project’s overall objective is to ensure the continuity of the Public Administra-tion Reform (PAR) process, by adjust-ing and developing the administrative system. The project supports the ef-forts of the country to meet the Copen-hagen criteria that require a competent and well organised public administra-
tion able to effectively participate in the work of the EU institutions, and make best use of the EU funds.
Within its 18-month duration, the project will provide assistance to the General Secretariat to develop a new Public Administration Reform (PAR) Strategy, as well as to review and update the Strategy for coopera-tion of the government with the civil sector. Furthermore, the project will strengthen the capacity of the ben-eficiary to coordinate the implemen-
tation of the two strategies, and will enhance the capacity of the High lev-el Committee for State Administra-tion Reform in carrying out its task to steer the public administration re-form process. The Project officially started in No-vember 2009, with a budget of 1 mil-lion EUR and with a duration of 18 months. This project is implemented by Hulla & Co. Human Dynamics KG from Austria in association with IPS Institute Slovenia, by a team of in-ternational and local experts.
Technical assistance for civil society organisations (TASCO)
The European Union considers ac-tive participation by civil society in the decision-making process as very
important. Therefore, ensuring that civil society’s concerns are duly tak-en into account in the European inte-
gration agenda and enhancing their policy dialogue with the authorities is mainstreamed in assistance pro-grammes. Within the framework of IPA Multi-Beneficiary programme: the Civil Society Facility (CSF), the project Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations – TACSO was funded aiming to strengthen the civil society within participative democracy, as well as to stimulate a civil society-friendly environment and culture, to strengthen the capacities and ac-countability of the Civil Society Or-ganisations and to guarantee the quality of services of Civil Society Organisations and their sustainable role in democratic processes. With a 2-year duration, the project will be implemented in the West-ern Balkans countries and Turkey, with an overall budget of 6.7 mil-lion EUR, by the consulting company SIPU International from Sweden and its consortium partners from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Poland and Romania.
Latest News... Call for proposals: IPA Civil Society Facility- Support to Partnership Actions to Minorities/Vul-nerable Groups Organisations EuropeAid/129897/C/ACT/MULTI: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eu-ropeaid/online-services/index.cfm ... Local Publication for Call for Proposals: European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), Country Based Support Scheme (CBSS) 2009 - Eu-ropeAid/129 - 926/L/ACT/MK: http://www.delmkd.ec.europa.eu/en/TendersAndVacancies/tenders.htm... Regional project “Network for health and safety at work” officially started. Through establishing a regional partnership between civil society organizations and trade unions, as a tool for coordinated develop-ment of anti-mobbing policies, this regional project “Network for health and safety of work” aims to support development of socially responsible labour market in South East Europe, through working on prevention and mitigation of mobbing...
eu newsletter january - march 2010
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Football shares Europe’s values of in-tegration, solidarity and social inclu-sion, and can play a significant role in helping the EU to promote them, especially at the local level where clubs are part of their local communi-ties. This was the message of Michel Platini, President of UEFA, speaking at the Committee of the Regions Plenary Session in Brussels on 14 April.
“In the world of football, being picked for your national team or playing in a European tournament is seen as the pinnacle, but in the end you play in your local team, the one you grew up with,” said Platini, underlining the importance of the local level to
the ‘beautiful game’. “The European sporting model…relies heavily on the support of local communities at every level, and especially at the amateur level.”2010 is the European Year for Com-bating Poverty and Social Exclusion, and Platini stressed the role of foot-ball in particular in helping to tackle these issues. “Football is about inte-gration, inclusion, giving support and offering a welcome,” he said, giving the example of the children of im-migrants often finding a common interest with their host country on the football field far more than in the school room. “In many cases, football is a far more effective driver of inte-
gration than school or social services, and it is football which gives young people their identities.”
This view of sport as a force for change was shared by Ramon Luis Valcarcel Siso (ES/EPP), President of the Autonomous Community of Mur-cia First and Vice-President of the CoR, who chaired the Plenary. “Sport shares many of the values of Europe; it allows us to tackle a wide range of issues such as health, citizenship, in-tegration and intercultural dialogue. The EU has understood that sport can also play a role in the creation of truly European identity.”
EUROPEAN COMMISSION URGES ROMA SOCIAL INCLUSION
MICHEL PLATINI: FOOTBALL AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES WORKING TOGETHER WILL SCORE ON SOCIAL INCLUSION
Roma communities, the European Union’s largest ethnic minority, con-tinue to face persistent discrimination and segregation. The European Com-mission urged Member States in a re-port published in March 2010 to use EU funds for the social and economic integration of Roma. Ensuring these communities’ access to jobs and non-segregated education, housing and
health services is vital to their social inclusion, the report said. The inte-gration of the estimated 10 to 12 mil-lion Roma – a population as large as Belgium’s or Greece’s – is a joint re-sponsibility of Member States and EU institutions. A separate report evalu-ated the progress achieved in inte-gration over the past two years. Par-ticipants at the second Europe-wide Roma Summit, in Córdoba, Spain on 8-9 April, reviewed these reports. “As a Union founded on strong values, we must ensure that Roma’s funda-mental rights are respected. Discrimi-nation against this ethnic minority is not acceptable,” said Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding, Com-missioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship. “Addressing their problems benefits our societ-ies and economies. It is only through sustained and coordinated action that
we can make a real difference for Roma all over Europe.”László Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and In-clusion underlined: “Efforts to inte-grate the Roma people need to cover an entire life cycle starting earliest stages of kindergarten to mainstream education for children, jobs for adults and care for the elderly. Roma com-munities are part and parcel of our fight against poverty and joblessness. He added: “Roma people do not need a separate labour market, they do not need schools that prolong the segre-gation of Roma children and they do not want renovated Roma ghettos. Our objective is to get Roma accepted on equal terms, to be integrated into society. The European Social Fund is a powerful lever in supporting this cross-cutting approach”.
New
s from Brussels
News from Brussels
The European Commission adopted two new EU policy frameworks to help developing countries address the issue of food security, both in emergency and long-term situation. The objectives are to ensure progress toward achieving Millennium Devel-opment Goal related to the elimina-tion of poverty and hunger (MDG 1), and to maximise the effectiveness of humanitarian support in crises where food insecurity threatens lives. Food security implies food availability, ac-cess to food and quality of food. The
Commission promotes the vision of an environmentally friendly and sus-tainable agricultural model, adapted to the reality of developing countries and markets, and able to make food available, accessible and of adequate nutritional quality. It therefore con-centrates on enhancing the produc-tivity of smallholder farmers and the resilience of rural communities, sup-porting governance improvements for food security, and strengthening assistance mechanisms for extremely vulnerable population groups.
RENEWED IMPETUS FOR FOOD SECURITY: THE EU TACKLES HUNGER IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
http://europa.eu/rapid/
http://europa.eu/rapid/
(Reference=IP/10/407)
(Reference=IP/10/404)
eu newsletterEU InfoCentre
EU InfoCentre
European Union Information CentreM.H.Jasmin 52 v 1000 SkopjeTel./Fax. ++389 (0)2 329 63 63Working Hours Monday-Friday 09-18; Saturday 10-13
For information on forthcoming events in the EU InfoCentre please visit our website www.euic.mk
Information Society Days at the EU InfoCentre
From 9 to 26 February, the EU InfoCentre of the Del-egation of the European Union organised a series of
events entitled “Information Society Days”, aimed at raising awareness about EU policies and activities in this area.
The events were related to the safer use of Internet, initiatives for digitalisation of cultural heritage, cre-ation of digital libraries, as well as the promotion of ICT research supported by the European Union. Safer Internet Day (9 February), was marked with a lecture for students from the elementary schools.
A number of events were organized at the EU Info-Centre: a panel discussion about EU’s digital librar-ies - initiative and local perspectives for development of digital copies of the cultural heritage, presentation of success stories and a panel discussion about EU’s role in promoting ICT research and opportunities for local ICT research under the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme and exhibition entitled Europe and the Europeans in the Digital Age was displayed in the EU InfoCentre throughout the period 9-26 February.
Safer Internet Day - lecture for elementary school students
Delegation of the European Union Celebrates It’s 10th Birthday
About 60 students from 6 elementary schools from Skopje attended а lecture about safer usage of the Internet on 9 February in the EU InfoCen-tre. The event was organized in order to mark Safer Internet Day, under this year’s motto “Think before you post”. The lecture is also a part of the Information Society Days that will take place in the EU InfoCentre from 9 to 26 February.
Elena STOJANOVSKA, Advisor for International Cooperation and Public Relations at the Director-ate for Personal Data Protection and Filip STO-JANOVSKI, Program Coordinator at Metamorpho-sis Foundation, CRISP - Children’s Rights on the Internet, Safe and Protected Project, explained to the children that they should think carefully about the potential consequences of their actions before posting their own personal information or those of their friends.
The aim of the event was to raise awareness a m o n g young people regarding t h e fact that photos and
other personal in-formation, once online, remain online.
On 10 March, the Delegation of the European Union in Skopje celebrated its 10th anniversary at the EU InfoCentre in the presence of the Prime Minister Gruevski, representatives of the Govern-ment, Parliament, business community, civil soci-ety, media and international organisations pres-ent in the country.
In March 2000, the Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten and the late President Tra-jkovski opened the Delegation.
In the past 10 years the Delegation’s staff grew from 10 to over 80 employees, all of them work-ing with the same commitment to help the coun-try join the EU.The Delegation’s communication work is assisted by the EU InfoCentre, operating within its prem-ises, as well as by the wide network of EU info points dispersed throughout the country.
EU InfoCentreJanuary - March 10
In the period
was 2071
the number of visitors in the
Almost 30questions were answered by phone, fax, e-mail and 21 events took place at
the EU InfoCentre