European House Skopje

Early today, the European Council in Brussels decided to grant Republic of Macedonia candidate status for membership of EU. The Heads of States and Governments of EU Member States thus recognised the progress that Macedonia has made in meeting the Copenhagen criteria.Following this decision Macedonia has joined the candidate countries Croatia and Turkey.

01.02.2006 (up to 01.11.2006. Deadlines vary according to Action and National Agency.) Budget line / available budget 15.05.01 / 108.445.000 EUR Objectives and supported actions in the field of ENARґs work The YOUTH programme is the EU’s mobility and non-formal education programme targeting young people aged between 15 and 25 years. It offers young people opportunities for mobility and active participation in the construction of Europe. It aims to create a European arena for cooperation in the development of youth policy, based on non-formal education. It also encourages the concept of lifelong learning and the development of skills and competencies which promote active citizenship. The Programme pursues the following objectives: Facilitating the integration of young people into society at large and encouraging their spirit of initiative. Helping young people acquire knowledge, skills and competencies, and recognising the value of such experience. Allowing young people to give free exp

European liberal leaders have attacked plans to block Macedonia's EU candidate status if there is no budget deal, but showed optimism that a finance breakthrough is near. See more >

Macedonia, the EU budget, and the destabilisation of the Balkans Executive Summary France has declared that it is prepared to veto the approval of Macedonia’s candidate status, recommended last month by the European Commission. Instead, it has proposed a new debate as to whether there should be any further EU enlargement at all. The United Kingdom has proposed a new budget for the EU that would preclude any serious pre-accession assistance for the Western Balkans for the next 7-year budgetary period. The UK proposal could shut the door on further enlargement just as forcefully as a French veto. Between France and the UK, there is now a distinct possibility that the European Council meeting beginning on Thursday (15th December) will not just deny candidate status to Macedonia, but throw the entire European strategy in the Balkans into confusion. This would be a disastrous policy error. For this reason, ESI is calling on EU member states not to forget their commitments to the countries o

The aim is to promote tolerance under the banner “together for youth”. The EU will provide €900,000 over the next 18 months for the project, which is managed by the European Agency for Reconstruction. “Youth projects are very important for a country already on its way to reaching European standards and values,” said the country's prime minister, Vlado Buckovski, at the campaign launch in Skopje. “This campaign is an excellent opportunity to show the full potential of our young generation and to ‘Europeanise’ it in its way of thinking and acting.” The campaign will include television spots, billboards, posters, brochures and other materials, targeting people aged 15–24, and will spotlight the most pressing issues faced by the country’s youth. “This project will contribute to the improvement of inter-ethnic understanding and collaboration among young people throughout the country,” said the EU Special Representative and Head of the European Commission Delegation to the country, Erwin

Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Enlargement, lent his strong support on December 8 to the Commission's proposal that it should be considered a candidate, but without any date set for the start of negotiations. And the EU-former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting in Brussels on December 5-6 also backed the idea, arguing that it would "not only encourage the country to achieve further results in the reform process, but also strengthen stability in the region and send a clear message that progress made is rewarded". Meanwhile, the Austrian Presidency of the EU – which will run from January to June 2006 - has already included the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in its priorities.

Strengthen your search for funds with the Foundation Center's Grants for Children & Youth. Descriptions of 28,930 recent grants of $10,000 or more Over $3.2 billion in distributed grants Grants from 1,029 foundations This new Guide is a great resource for grantseekers who focus on any of these areas: adolescent parent services adult/child matching programs child development children's museums child welfare, including adoption, foster care, and prevention of child abuse neonatal care pediatrics and children's hospitals pregnancy counseling and prevention programs prevention of youth violence and rehabilitation for youth offenders scouting organizations youth centers and clubs youth development Easy-access indexes help you quickly find the information you need. The subject index helps you locate funders for your specific project...the geographic index shows which grantmakers fund programs in your state or country...and the recipient index allows you to track grants awarde

The Secretariat for European Affairs has started to publish “Bulletin Europe” , in the line with the efforts to inform the public administration, local self-government and the wider public about the process of integration of the Republic of Macedonia in the European Union. Bulletin Europe will be published on a monthly bases on Macedonian language and will be distributed to the public administration and the units of local self-government.The Secretariat for European Affairs also prepares electronic edition of the bulletin in Macedonian and English. These issues will be accessible for the entire Macedonian public via internet, and will be distributed to the EU bodies and institutions, international organisations, embassies, think-tanks and international media. If you want to be added to the distribution list, please register at the following link: contact@avis.gov.mk Секретаријатот за европски прашања почна да издава гласило со име Билтен Европа како дел од напорите за информирање на д

The text here below is the first chapter of a paper entitled ‘Comparative Lobbying Practices: Washington, London, Brussels written by Mr. Conor Mc Grath, Lecturer in Political Communication and Public Affairs at the University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. The value of this presentation is that it is based on research as well as on the interviews conducted by the author. In the national context in particular, lobbyists are often seen in a negative light as “pullers off strings” to influence politics out of the public eye. In Brussels on the other hand, in as far as they are playing a constructive role, lobbyists are appreciated as experts. The lobbyist bringing good ideas and convincing arguments to the table is likely to receive undivided attention and positions himself as a proactive partner assisting in solving the problem at stake. Admittedly, there is a problem of definition. Today people in the industry are ‘European Public Affairs Specialists’, ‘EU Public Affairs