A training seminar on strengthening the state institutions for the EU integration process was organised in Skopje, Macedonia on 15-19 October, 2012 by the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.
The event, witnessing the participation of H.E. Zoran Petrov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia; H.E. Aivo Orav, Head of the EU delegation in the Republic of Macedonia and Jon Ivanovski, CEI National Coordinator of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Macedonia, was attended by 32 employees from the State Administration of Macedonia, dealing with issues of European integration and Regional cooperation.
The training - conducted by top Bulgarian experts in EU integration issues - aimed at highlighting the roles and responsibilities of the national administration in order to effectively manage and speed up the European integration process. This was the third event of a cycle of four trainings organised within the CEI KEP AUSTRIA Project“Western Balkans: Getting Closer to the EU. Strengthening the Capacity of the State institutions to Meet the Integration Challenges Today". The two previous trainings were organised in Podgorica (May 2012) and Belgrade (June 2012), while the last one will be held in Sarajevo in 2013.
The seminars are conceived to be similar in content, yet taking into account the specific needs and challenges faced by each beneficiary country on its path towards EU membership. For this reason, the seminars target state officials occupying high-level positions in the state administration of the respective countries. The overall project aims at training 120 senior state officials in four beneficiary countries, enabling them to effectively tackle the urgent European accession issues.
This project is supported by the CEI KEP AUSTRIA Programme, co-financed through the funding of Austrian Development Cooperation. Since 2008, KEP AUSTRIA projects have become a distinctive feature in CEI activities, with special focus on European integration, capacity building and sustainable development.
For more information: gostisa@cei.int