The EU Accession Program covers activities that represent a unique combination of the organization’s key traditional products with innovative tools. This program represents the core of the activities that have made the organization recognizable over the past decade. As a key innovation, from October 2019, EUROTHINK will launch and maintain a specialized website, eu.org.mk, which is: 1) Digital guide to the accession process where the complex process of EU accession and its benefits is explained in simple language; 2) Repository for online resources related to accession; 3) A platform on which educational-informative contents related to accession will be created and reproduced on a regular basis. This product will be the main axis and communication channel on which all content produced by the organization will flow. In the period covered by the strategy, EUROTHINK will monitor the accession negotiations (if they start) and will give its assessments and proposals for improving the negotiation structure, negotiating positions and the administrative-institutional capacities of the country for EU accession. Through the traditional product, the Comparative Analysis of Progress Reports, EUROTHINK will continue to assess the progress of North Macedonia in the accession process, paying due attention to the analysis of the neglected National Program for Adoption of European Legislation. EUROTHINK will continue to closely monitor the programming and absorption of IPA funds, as well as the participation of the entities from North Macedonia in the Programs of the Union, including by monitoring the work of the Sectoral Working Groups and disseminating information to the citizens and civil society organizations through our communication channels. The Eurometer survey will remain a key research product of the organization for the next 4 years, with EUROTHINK conducting at least one survey per year, which will result in several research products. During this period, the organization will invest in better presentation and digitalization of the enviable databases created in the past six years. EUROTHINK will continue to work on the Accession Log, which is a regular policy analysis tool issued on a regular basis (at least four entries per year). The organization of Chatham House EuroTalk events will continue, at least four each year.

This program covers 1) harmonization of the country’s bilateral relations with neighbouring EU member states, 2) participation in and promotion of instruments for deepening regional cooperation, which are complementary to the enlargement process such as the Berlin Process, the initiative to create a regional economic area and 3) Bilateral and multilateral political, economic, security and other cooperation between the countries of the Balkans and Southeast Europe. In the past two years, RSM has managed to significantly improve bilateral relations with neighbouring countries by signing good neighbourly agreements with Bulgaria and Greece. The implementation of the agreements has inevitably become the country’s bet in the hope of unblocking European integration and NATO membership. Thus, the implementation of the agreements is part of the conditionality policy and the accession process. In recent years, EUROTINK has worked to harmonize relations with Greece and Bulgaria, supporting the Prespa Agreement as an investment in stabilizing the region. In the forthcoming period, EUROTINK will closely monitor the implementation of the Prespa Agreement and will initiate and support initiatives for increased cooperation and trust between the actors from North Macedonia and Greece and through the Symphony Program. One of the main activities will be networking with actors from Greece and Bulgaria and creating a platform for joint advocacy to unblock European integration before hesitant Western European governments. In the face of enlargement fatigue, the growing hesitation of the Western European public towards the Western Balkans and the democratic setback in some of the countries in the process of accession negotiations, member states have launched a number of initiatives in recent years, such as the Berlin Process. EUROTHINK will continue to work to support all of these initiatives, including through the organization of regional civil society forums, networking, research and joint lobbying with partners in the region.