Technical talks on chapters 23 and 24 under way in Brussels

Macedonia hasn't appointed a head of the delegation in Brussels, because the dialogue launched with the European Commission regarding chapters 23 and 24 is held at technical level and involves officials in charge of EU integration in relevant ministries, Vice PM responsible for European affairs, Teuta Arifi said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Formally, she added, Macedonia has been invited to observe the ongoing process with Montenegro, which has started the screening process, whereas Serbia has the same status as Macedonia. Informally, Arifi stressed, the country has launched the negotiations and needs to seize the opportunity and to deliver good results in reforms related to chapters 23 and 24, which are considered to be one of the most sensitive and most difficult in the process of accession talks.

The team in Brussels is made up of 33 people. In addition to a representative from the Ministry of Justice - which is primarily in charge of talks on chapter 23 that covers judiciary and freedom of expression, the team also includes officials of the Macedonian Bureau for Representation before the European Court of Human Rights, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, secretariats for the implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement and European affairs, cabinet of the minister without portfolio who is responsible for the implementation of the Decade of Roma Inclusion, Directorate for Personal Data Protection and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Interior Ministry is the main institution in charge of chapter 24 - justice, freedom and security - and is followed by MoFA, ministries of justice, labour and health, Customs Administration and Secretariat for European Affairs.

Vice PM Arifi said that talks and presentations involving chapter 23 wrapped up on Wednesday, while the dialogue on chapter 24 was due to resume on Thursday and Friday. In fact, she added, EU's legislation is being presented regarding these two chapters, which will be followed by an analysis of the extent of harmonisation with Macedonia's law after which the process will be put into operation.

"We are already working to put into operation the process derived from the high-level dialogue, hence these two things will take place in parallel," Arifi said.

She announced that Nicolai Wammen, the Minister for European Affairs of Denmark - the current holder of EU's presidency - would be her guest in April.

The high-level dialogue is expected to resume in May.