On June 5th, 2018, the European Policy Institute and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in the Republic of Macedonia will hold the final conference of the project “Network 23+”, financially supported by the European Union and co financially supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade. The conference will be held under the title “Chapter 23: Pandora’s Box or a key for good governance”. You will have the opportunity to watch it live on the Facebook page of EPI, as well as on Twitter under the hashtag #mreza23.
Chapter 23, which cover the areas of justice, fight against corruption and fundamental rights of citizens, is the first chapter that opens in the negotiations with the European Unions, alongside Chapter 24. With this, the Union emphasizes the importance of the principle of rule of law as one of its most important values.
The goal of the project Network 23+ is to contribute to the incorporation of the principles of rule of law in the Republic of Macedonia, through the prism of Chapter 23 of the EU accession – justice, fundamental rights and combating corruption, through a structured contribution from the members of Network 23. Within the framework of the project, which was implemented from January 2016, 9 small projects of civil society organizations were supported, which carried out researches related to the policies of these areas. Over 35 events were held, attended by more than 1000 participants, including institutions, experts, civil society organizations and the general public. The project Network 23+ is highlighted as particularly important in the Mid-Term Evaluation of the Civil Society Program for the Western Balkans and Turkey, issued by the European Commission in 2017, due to its role in improving the rule of law in Macedonia.
With this in mind, the purpose of this conference is to present the current work regarding the project “Network 23+”, and to provoke an open debate about the situation in the area. The conference will host a discussion among representatives from the institutions and civil organizations as well as experts in the most problematic areas in question, reflecting upon the key activities that need to be undertaken in the areas under the Chapter 23. This conference takes place in light of the decision to be made by the Council of the EU, regarding the possibility for the start of the negotiations with the European Union.
You can find the event agenda below.
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The “Network: 23+” project is financed by the European Union and co-financed by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade. It is supported by the Municipality of Centar. It is implemented by the European Policy Institute and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in the Republic of Macedonia.