The joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022” has been a valuable support to North Macedonia in particular to further strengthen fundamental freedom and human rights of citizens, concluded the participants of the Second Beneficiary Steering Committee Meeting taking place online today in Skopje. The programme will continue assisting authorities to comply with European standards in the field of human rights, rule of law and democracy.

During the meeting partner and beneficiary institutions took stock of the Horizontal Facility II key achievements, welcoming the flexibility of the programme to tackle key challenges during implementation, in particular in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her address, Deputy Director, Horizontal Facility Beneficiary Co-ordinator - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Gorica Atanasova – Gjorevska expressed her appreciation and support for the dedicated implementation of the objectives of the joint programme of the European Union/Council of Europe - Horizontal Facility II, stressing the active involvement of the beneficiary institutions and stakeholders in the continuous realisation of the actions, in these very difficult conditions and pandemic environment. “The Annual Steering Committee is yet another opportunity for all of us to assess the progress made, as well as to discern the areas in which my country needs further assistance in the domestic reform processes while remaining dedicated to the European agenda",  said Atanasova – Gjorevska.

In his remarks, the Head of Co–operation in the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of North Macedonia, Nicola Bertolini stressed that: “With our joint and continuous efforts in the framework of the European Union and Council of Europe Horizontal Facility initiative, we have managed to develop strong partnership, trust and we have delivered numerous positive results in the field of human rights, rule of law, that contribute to the overall reform processes in North Macedonia and the whole region”.

The Head of Programming Department in the Council of Europe Office of the Directorate General of Programmes, Pilar Morales, underlined that: “The Council of Europe, hand in hand with the European Union and the domestic partners, remains now more than ever, in this particular challenging context, committed to support North Macedonia to forge ahead with its reform agenda and advance on its EU path and compliance with Council of Europe standards.”

With a dedicated budget of over €4.1 million, the EU and Council of Europe joint Horizontal Facility II programme is currently implementing six major actions in North Macedonia. Through the technical assistance, these actions are supporting the needs of the public authorities in addressing important reforms to ensure justice, fight corruption and organised crime, promote diversity and equality and to advance freedom of media and freedom of expression, within the framework of the EU enlargement process.

The Horizontal Facility II joint programme was created as a co-operation initiative of the European Union and Council of Europe to assist Beneficiaries in the Western Balkans and Turkey to comply with Council of Europe standards and, where relevant, the European Union acquis in the framework of the enlargement process.

Despite the effect that COVID-19 pandemic had on the implementation of the actions under the Horizontal Facility II in North Macedonia, notable results were achieved during its second year of implementation.

In the field of ensuring justice and equal rights with the support of the programme, the provision of free legal aid services for the citizens of North Macedonia has been consolidated. This framework an informational and awareness raising campaign promoting better access and more efficient free legal aid services for the citizens of North Macedonia has been conducted in close co-operation with the Ministry of Justice.

In the efforts to guarantee prisoners’ rights, the consolidation of External Oversight Mechanism and the awareness raising initiative to promote this mechanism have contributed to a better protection against the violations perpetrated by prisons police. Furthermore, in co-operation with the Directorate for the Execution of Sanctions important progress has been identified towards addressing violent extremism and radicalisation in prisons.

To support the authorities in the fight against corruption and economic crime, key contribution has been provided in the effective implementation of the EU Directive and the Council of Europe Recommendation on ‘whistle-blowers’. In addition, consultations and guidance was provided to the authorities in the process of reviewing the draft amendments to Anti Money Laundry/Combatting the Financing of Terrorism Law, and related Strategy. Starting from this year, with the support of the programme a training centre within the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption of North Macedonia is being established, which will provide capacity building and knowledge tools in the framework of fighting corruption and economic crime.

Referring to the efforts in fighting discrimination and promoting diversity, assistance was provided to the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in the process of integrating key standards and recommendations from the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), in the country reforms and policies to counter discrimination. Furthermore, key raising awareness initiatives have been introduced in various communities in North Macedonia to promote protection of rights of LGBTI persons, and fight hate speech.
Focusing on the work to combat human trafficking in North Macedonia, the programme has provided important contribution in the process of improving the identification, protection of, and assistance to victims of human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation, with a particular attention on children. During this period, support was given to the authorities in the process of ensuring effective legal aid and representation for the victims of domestic violence, while working together with civil society organisations to promote and raise awareness on the dangers of human trafficking for various vulnerable communities.

In the field of freedom of expression, key assistance was provided in promoting freedom of expression and freedom of the media in North Macedonia helping key actors in their endeavours to improve the application of European standards related to freedom of speech. Important consultations and expertise on the amendments to the Criminal Code of North Macedonia to ensure more safety for journalists, were conducted in co-operation with the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Justice. In addition, capacity building activities and knowledge tools have been shared with the community of legal professionals in North Macedonia aiming to improve the application of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Court case-law on freedom of expression in North Macedonia.