UNOPS/SEA Support for EU negotiations and communication (SEA)  2023-2026 - Support for EU negotiations and communication (SEA) Phase I UNOPS/SEA Stöd för EU:s förhandlingar och kommunikation 2023-2026 North Macedonia presently is in a very intensive period finalizing the EU screening process and creating the conditions for decision making on politically sensitive changes in the Constitution in order to fulfill the conditions for initiating accession talks. Intensive work on EU related reforms continues, and dialogue is maintained with EU. The support and flexible approach provided by Sweden to this process with the predecessor project (2018-2023) ended with noticeable results in legal reform and capacity building of the EU dialogue involved staff. This support was highly appreciated by the Secretariat for European Affairs and the benefiting institutions.
The Swedish Embassy assesses the proposed project to be relevant and timely in light of the overall objective of the Governments Program 2022-2024 and its Strategic priorities, as well as according to the National Program for Adoption of the EU Acquis. Its focus on the negotiation process itself, complemented by anticorruption and communication part in which civil society and media are involved, is well-designed and incorporates lessons learned from the predecessor project and its evaluation.
With this contribution Sweden will continue  supporting capacity building of relevant staff in the institutions that are involved in the EU related reform process and EU negotiations, strengthen the process related legislation, increase anti-corruption capacity of the office of DPM for Good Governance by providing technical assistance , and improve transparency of the process by training of journalists in the EU accession process.
Due to upcoming elections and possibility for change of Government followed by possible change in priorities on the side of the Government as well on the EU side, the project is planned to be implemented with phased approach (Phase I and Phase II). In the first phase, the Project will continue to support SEA in the bilateral screening process, alignment of the national legislation with the EU acquis as well as the progress on the fundamental reforms through the provision of highly specialized technical assistance. The phased approach will allow for the conduct of a review towards the end of the first phase that will assess: i) the Project’s progress ii) relevance and feasibility of the activities currently planned for the second phase, while also considering Government's commitment and priorities related to EU integrations. iii) progress of activities related to “Transfer of Ownership” to Secretariat for European Affairs, including Secretariat for European Affairs readiness to take over more implementation responsibilities. The Review will therefore provide  basis for the introduction of adjustments in the possible support of Phase II.
A budget of 7mSEK is requested for Phase I, with implementation period of 14 months. Nordmakedonien befinner sig för närvarande i en mycket intensiv period när det gäller att slutföra EU:s granskningsprocess och skapa förutsättningar för beslutsfattande om politiskt känsliga ändringar i konstitutionen för att uppfylla villkoren för att inleda anslutningsförhandlingar. Det intensiva arbetet med EU-relaterade reformer fortsätter och dialogen med EU upprätthålls. Det stöd och flexibla tillvägagångssätt som Sverige gav till denna process med det föregående projektet (2018-2023) slutade med märkbara resultat i rättsliga reformer och kapacitetsuppbyggnad av EU-dialogen involverade personal. Detta stöd uppskattades mycket av sekretariatet för Europafrågor och de stödmottagande institutionerna.
Den svenska ambassaden bedömer att det föreslagna projektet är relevant och lägligt mot bakgrund av det övergripande målet för regeringsprogrammet 2022-2024 och dess strategiska prioriteringar, samt enligt det nationella programmet för antagande av EU:s regelverk. Dess fokus på själva förhandlingsprocessen, kompletterad med antikorruption och kommunikationsdelen där det civila samhället och medierna deltar, är väl utformad och innehåller lärdomar från det föregående projektet och dess utvärdering.
Med detta bidrag kommer Sverige att fortsätta att stödja kapacitetsuppbyggnad av relevant personal vid de institutioner som deltar i den EU-relaterade reformprocessen och EU-förhandlingarna, stärka den processrelaterade lagstiftningen, öka antikorruptionskapaciteten vid DPM:s kontor för god samhällsstyrning genom att tillhandahålla tekniskt bistånd och förbättra insynen i processen genom utbildning av journalister i EU-anslutningsprocessen.
På grund av kommande val och möjlighet till regeringsskifte följt av eventuella ändrade prioriteringar på regeringens sida samt på EU-sidan planeras projektet att genomföras stegvis (fas I och fas II). I den första fasen kommer projektet att fortsätta att stödja strategisk miljöbedömning i den bilaterala granskningsprocessen, anpassningen av den nationella lagstiftningen till EU:s regelverk samt framstegen med de grundläggande reformerna genom tillhandahållande av högt specialiserat tekniskt bistånd. Det stegvisa tillvägagångssättet kommer att göra det möjligt att genomföra en översyn mot slutet av den första fasen som  kommer att bedöma i) projektets framsteg ii) relevansen och genomförbarheten av de aktiviteter som för närvarande planeras för den andra fasen, samtidigt som regeringens åtagande och prioriteringar i samband med EU-integrationer beaktas. iii) Framsteg i verksamheten i samband med "överföring av äganderätt" till sekretariatet för Europafrågor, inklusive sekretariatet för Europafrågor som är redo att ta över mer genomförandeansvar. Översynen kommer därför att ligga till grund för införandet av justeringar av det eventuella stödet till fas II.
En budget på 7 MSEK begärs för fas I, med genomförandetid på 14 månader. North Macedonia is currently in an intensive period to finalize its commitments under the EU screening process and to meet the conditions for opening accession negotiations. Previous support by Sida to the EU accession process in the period 2018 to 2023 has yielded good results in terms of legislative reforms and is assessed to have strengthened the capacity of public administrative staff involved in dialogue in the EU. The support has been highly appreciated by the Secretariat for European Affairs and the other beneficiary institutions.

The overall objective of the proposed action, "Support to European Accession of North Macedonia", is to continue to contribute to effective EU accession and harmonization of laws and regulations to EU standards. The support is considered to be well in line with the priorities in the strategy for Sweden's reform work in the Western Balkans and Turkey 2021 to 2027. With a focus on promoting democracy, the rule of law and gender equality, the initiative is also considered to be able to contribute to several of the strategy's sub-goals.

The proposal by UNOPS and the Secretariat for European Affairs (SEA) aims at capacity building of relevant staff in the institutions involved in the reform process and EU negotiations, legislative reforms and increased capacity to act against corruption. In addition, the ambition is to contribute to transparency through the training of journalists in the EU accession process.

UNOPS will be the implementing partner as well as Sida's contracting party, as SEA currently lacks sufficient capacity for project management. The planned budget is SEK 7 million, with an activity period of 14 months, from September 2023 to October 2024.

Sida assesses that the proposed project is relevant and timely in light of the country's strategic priorities for 2022 - 2024, as well as based on the national program for the adoption of EU regulations. The focus of the action on the negotiation process, complemented by anti-corruption and capacity building, involving civil society and the media, is well designed and it builds on lessons learned from the predecessor programme and its evaluation. Sida also assesses that there is  strong ownership of the project goals and the project plan,  and the  division of responsibility between the Secretariat for European Affairs and UNOPS is clear.

Based on possible changes in priorities as a result of a change of government, as well as possible new priorities on the part of the EU, the operation is planned to be implemented in two phases. In the first phase, support will focus on the screening process, harmonization of national legislation as well as technical assistance to implement the necessary reforms. At the end of the phase one , an evaluation will be carried out which will form the basis for a decision on possible support for phase two, when a gradual transfer of ownership and building of project management capacity at the secretariat is envisaged. The evaluation will assess  (i) the progress of the project (ii) the relevance and feasibility of the activities currently planned for the second phase, while taking into account the government's commitment and priorities in the context of EU integration. (iii)  the operational steps relating  to the transfer of ownership to the Secretariat for European Affairs;

Based on the above-mentioned assessments and attached preparation, it is proposed that Sida will support the program "Support to European Accession of North Macedonia" with SEK 7 million during 20232024.