In Skopje started a second module of the project "EU Negotiations: Techniques, Skills and Content" organized by the Centre for European Perspective, Slovenia, in cooperation with the Customs Administration of the Republic of Macedonia. The module is entitled "Negotiating with the European Union" and aims to improve the negotiation techniques of the Macedonian senior public servants that will play a decisive role in the Macedonia – EU negotiations in the chapter of taxation.

Training was opened by Lulzim Xhemaili, Deputy Director General of the Customs Administration of the Republic of Macedonia and Andreja Dolničar Jeraj, Programme Director of the Centre for European Perspective, Slovenia.

Xhemaili emphasized that Slovenia is traditionally very supportive for Macedonia's efforts on its path towards European Union. He thanked CEP for its support in Macedonian efforts to prepare its civil servants for the EU negotiations, which will hopefully, also on the basis of the European Commission Progress Report 2009, after five years of the candidate status, start very soon. In this respect, trainings with learning by doing from those with many experiences is the best that Customs Administration can provide for its employees.

Dolničar Jeraj shortly presented CEP as the official provider of Slovene development assistance which is mainly directed towards Western Balkans countries on their way towards the EU. She exposed that CEP always organizes practical, tailor-made and demand driver trainings. As CEP got the request from Macedonian Customs Administration for organizing training on international negotiations, Slovenia was happy for the trust that was put in its experiences and expertise. Dolničar Jeraj pointed out that negotiations as such are important on many levels of our life – on private as well as on professional level. But when somebody is negotiating in the name of his country, his people, this is even more important. This time, the importance and responsibility lays on participants of the training, who will lead Macedonia towards the EU – these are one of the most important negotiations that one can run. At the end she presented the trainers and called for active engagement of the trainees, while workshop can not be successful without their involvement.

After the official opening the training started with short introductory lectures of the trainers and continued with workshops which will conclude on Friday, 28 May 2010.

Contact Person: Luka Živić, Project Manager