Funded by the EU and coordinated by the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR), the three-year project „EU Support for Rule of Law in North Macedonia“ will strengthen the rule of law in North Macedonia with respect to the judicial sector, the police, anti-corruption, and human rights.

The project marks an important milestone on the country’s way to EU membership, the accession negotiations having been opened last year. At the kick-off event, Ambassador David Geer, head of the EU Delegation in Skopje, made the relevance of the rule of law to the accession process very clear: „There can be no compromise; there will be no shortcuts.“

After speeches from Macedonian ministers Oliver Spasovski (Interior), Krenar Loga (Justice), and Jovanka Trenchevska (Labour and Social Affairs), LBI-GMR’s Administrative Director Patricia Mussi-Mailer addressed the high-ranking audience: „This project will be effective and sustainable because we will truly work together with our Macedonian partners: in a close relationship, on a daily basis, on an equal footing.“

The implementing consortium also consists of the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration of the Republic of Croatia, the Center for International Legal Cooperation, and the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Slovenia. The latter two were represented at the event by Eric Vincken and Jože Senica, respectively. Project team leader Hans Dieter Schindlauer presented the core contents of the project.