Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Nikola Dimitrov, on the sidelines of the Belgrade Security Forum, yesterday, met with the Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council – RCC, Majilinda Bregu, where the main focus was promoting regional cooperation as a mechanism for Europeanization of the region and moving forward in the European integration process.

As the Secretariat for European Affairs announced, Deputy Prime Minister Dimitrov outlined that regional initiatives are an exceptionally significant segment of the process as they represent the region in a constructive light.

–The region should act in a way that will send a message that with EU membership it will deliver more solutions than problems, an orientation towards the future instead of the past. The connection of countries from the region and the mutual support for realizing the goals and interests bring direct benefits for the citizens, but are also an important strategic step in fulfilling the common commitment for a European future, said Dimitrov.

Secretary General Bregu, as indicated, stressed that the European integration of the region is the ultimate vision of the RCC activities and pointed out the contribution of North Macedonia to the prosperity and stability of the region that has to be validated in the context of the accession process, because it sends an important message to the countries.

The meeting served to outline the progress of the Western Balkans and the fulfilment of the strategic goals of the RCC as a platform for reform transformation of the region, as well as the status of specific projects. Findings from the last edition of Balkan Barometer 2021 that were published in June were also discussed, is said in the SEP statement.

Translation: N. Cvetkovska