News
12/9/2022 08:13
The Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European affairs, Bojan Maricikj, today, on the occasion of the International Day of Combating Corruption, in cooperation with the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of good governance policies, Slavica Grkovska, and European Ambassador David Geer, organized a meeting with the representatives of all institutions that are responsible for fighting corruption.
The Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs and Chief Negotiator with the EU indicated that the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, the consistent and non-selective fight against crime and corruption, with broad and binding transparency, remain the strategic priority of this Government, on the path to the EU.
- The fight against corruption and the implementation of anti-corruption policies and measures is one of the main goals and priorities of the state. This was exactly our goal when we introduced the position of Chief Anti corruption Officer in the negotiation structure, responsible for the horizontal coordination of all policies from the point of combating corruption and preventing conflicts of interest, Maricikj said, adding that this is the government's response and recognition of the importance of this area for the European Union.
At the meeting in front of the diplomatic mission and the representatives of the institutions, Maricikj assured that there is a political will and desire to deal with this social phenomenon and that they have proven it several times so far in international reports where the improvement of the position of North Macedonia in the fight against corruption is noted.
- Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index for 2021 noted an improved position of the country compared to the previous year – 87th place, in contrast to the 2020 report when it was on the 111th. North Macedonia is in 63rd place out of 140 countries according to the "Rule of Law Index" of the Washington non-governmental organization "World Justice Project", which is one place better than last year when we were in 64th place, Maricikj emphasized.
In his opinion, these reports are proof of real changes, progress and sincere intention that they have in the approach to the fight against corruption, but it is not enough.
- We face a big challenge in order to successfully close the negotiations with the EU, for which we need reform Euro-enthusiasm. That's why we should see corruption as a point of unification of every single citizen and every institution, with an approach that will be inclusive in its eradication, said Maricikj.
The main negotiator with the EU briefed that at the bilateral screening for Cluster I "Fundamental Values", it was noted by the European Commission that efforts to fight corruption should be continued, GRECO's recommendations should be implemented, and of course sufficient resources of the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office for the prosecution of organized crime and corruption, in order to ensure effective accountability for high-level corruption cases.
In addition to the screening, the activities that are already being undertaken, which are aimed at strengthening the statistics in the fight against corruption, were welcomed, although we had a remark within the Chapter 24 about the number of implemented activities in the area.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of Finance Fatmir Besimi, the Minister of Information Society and Administration Admirim Aliti, the Vice-President of the Assembly Goran Misovski, the President of the Commission for Political Affairs Sonja Mirakovska, the State Public Prosecutor Ljubomir Jovevski, the President of the Judicial Council Vesna Daneva and part of the diplomatic corpse in the country.