The second Advisory Group meeting was organised and supported by the North Macedonian ROMACTED Support Team. The event brought together the main relevant stakeholders from 12 of the programme’s municipalities, as well as representatives of the international and Roma community. The aim of the meeting was to reflect on the progress of the progamme’s implementation and also discuss the next steps. On this occasion, the Advisory Group also welcomed representatives from the four additional municipalities who have previously expressed interest to join the programme in its second phase.

The welcome remarks were chaired by Mr Hadis Redjepi, ROMACTED Project Officer, from the Council of Europe Programme Office in Skopje.

Mr Muzafer Bajram, Minister Without Portfolio, emphasised that political stability requires constant co-ordination between central and local levels of government and welcomed the already established synergies within the programme, especially in the field of infrastructure.

Ms Mabera Kamberi, Assistant to the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, said that the Ministry have been actively participating in the support of CoE/EU programmes which target the improved status of Roma communities, which startedwith the ROMED Programmes through to the current ROMACTED Programme.

Mr Nicola Bertolini, Head of Cooperation, stated that:

“the European Union Delegation advocates for framework for action for member states to adopt strong Roma strategies and action plans, which would tackle discrimination and improvement of living conditions”.

Ms Fikrija Tair, External Advisor in the Cabinet of the President of North Macedonia, highlighted that there is an emphasised need to intensify co-operation at the local level.

“It is of crucial importance that the local authorities take into consideration the needs and priorities of their citizens, as well as to adopt the principles of responsible budgeting at local level”, said Ms Tair in her speech.

Mr Orhan Usein, Team Leader from the Roma Integration Action team (Regional Cooperation Council), said that the line of action was always well co-ordinated between the Roma Integration and ROMACTED Programme, having the two projects operating on different levels. He also reminded the audience of the Poznan Declaration and its targets which were endorsed by the Western Balkan leaders.

Mr Marcos Andrade, ROMACTED Programme Manager, Council of Europe, shared insights about the upcoming second phase of the programme and the novelties it will embrace. He briefly summarised the most recent progress and accented the beginning of the implementation of the projects, which are funded through the programme`s small grants scheme. Mr Andrade also encouraged the establishment of new synergies with more partners at local level which could be substantially beneficial for Roma communities.

The updates and milestones of the programme at local level were presented by Mr Ferdi Ismaili (ROMACTED Focal Point) in the second session of the meeting. Three working groups, gathering together different stakeholders including local authorities, Roma communities, and international and Roma civil society organisations, were set to discuss the programme`s progress, challenges and new features of the upcoming second phase (returnees, empowerment of women and youth, and environmental protection). The conclusions from the working groups were presented at the closing plenary, together with the final remarks which were addressed by Ms Mabera Kamberi and Mr Marcos Andrade.