Documents: EU Citizens rights - Right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament

This brief summarises the key developments in relation to the rule of law in view of EU accession in North Macedonia for the period October–December 2023. It includes the monitoring of the fundamentals of EU accession, including key developments in the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform and Chapter 23: Judiciary and Fundamental Rights.

EPI’s work is focused on the needs and constraints of North Macedonia, a country that awaited the start of the accession negotiations for more than a decade while experiencing a decline in support for European Union membership and political instability in recent years. Within its rule of law programme, it closely monitors the level of compliance with the rule of law principle in member states of the EU

This brief delves into the critical juncture facing the European Union as it grapples with challenges to the rule of law amidst shifting geopolitical dynamics and discussions on future enlargement. Recent proposals from the Franco–German expert group and the European Parliament aim to bolster enforcement mechanisms and streamline decision-making processes to address the rule of law breaches effectively. However, achieving a consensus on these reforms presents significant challenges amidst divergent Member State perspectives. Despite the hurdles, reform initiatives present opportunities to fortify the EU’s commitment to the rule of law, necessitating sustained discussions and diplomatic efforts.

This brief summarises the key developments about the rule of law in view of EU accession in North Macedonia from April to June 2023. It includes monitoring the fundamentals of EU accession, including key developments in the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform and chapter 23: judiciary and fundamental rights.

This brief summarises the key developments in relation to rule of law in view of EU accession in North Macedonia for the period October – December 2022. It includes monitoring the fundamentals of EU accession, including key developments in the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform, and

EU citizens' rights include: • Right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament • Right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament in another Member State • Right to vote and stand as a candidate in municipal elections in another Member State • Right to move and reside freely within the European Union • Right to consular protection

This brief summarises the key developments in relation to rule of law in view of EU accession in North Macedonia for the period April – June 2022. It includes the monitoring of the fundamentals of EU accession, including key developments in the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform and chapter 23: judiciary and fundamental rights.

This policy brief is based on the views expressed on the final conference of the project “Network 23+”, held on 5th of July, under the title “Chapter 23: Pandora’s Box or a Key for Good Governance?”. 

Project “Network 23+” implemented by the European Policy Institute-Skopje and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights aims at providing structured contribution of the civil society in monitoring and assessing the policies included in Chapter 23 of the EU Acquis – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights. This report unifies all the findings, conclusions and recommendations that resulted from the monitoring of the areas structured in Chapter 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights into a single coherent entirety. In fact, this is the third Shadow Report published by “Network 23”. The previous two cover the periods of October 2014-July 2015 and July 2015-April 2016. This report encompasses the period between the beginning of May 2016 and the end of January 2018. The report’s period has been extended in order to correspond to the new cycle of European Commission reports, which are to be released in April.