On Friday 15 September, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Johannes Hahn called for implementation of the recommendations of the Priebe report on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
All political forces in the country must help with implementation of these recommendations, Hahn tweeted, adding that he supported the conclusions of this report by a group of human rights experts – including Reinhard Priebe, who was mandated by the Commission and visited the country on 17-21 July (see Europe Diplomacy & Defence 993). The rule of law is fundamental for progress towards EU accession, Hahn added.
In a press release, the Commission stated that it expected the local authorities and all stakeholders concerned – including the parliamentary opposition, public institutions, media and society – to play their role in resolving the systemic problems mentioned in the report, and to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. It is high time to bring the country back onto the EU path through implementation of the necessary reforms, he added. In the continuation of this report, the Commission will use all tools available to support the country's efforts, through a political dialogue, technical and financial assistance, and targeted peer assessment missions, the Commission stated.
The 26-page report assesses the judicial situation, especially depoliticisation and appointments, the police and prosecution (including their capacity, independence and accountability), independent monitoring agencies, supervision and regulation, and also the media and civil society.
The experts underline that important domains, such as the judiciary, security or media, need systemic reforms based on an inclusive, transparent and cross-party process. While it is important to adopt reforms, they also need to be implemented, the experts state. All institutions in the country have the duty to assume their respective responsibility and carry out their task, the experts add, saying that all segments of society should thus have their role.
The report can be consulted at: https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhodd-enlargement/sites/near/files/2017.09.14_seg_report_on_systemic_rol_issues_for_publication.pdf (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)