The EU InfoCentre was officially inaugurated by Ambassador Erwan Fouéré, EU Special Representative and Head of the Delegation of the European Commission and Elizabeta Kancevska Milevska, minister of Culture.

Тhe opening of the EU InfoCentre in these modern premises is an important step towards bringing the Macedonian society up-to-date with the European integration issues. This development goes side by side with the advancement of the country on the road towards the membership in the European Union, said Ambassador Erwan Fouéré.

He emphasised that the new office is full of windows that sends a message of transparency of the work here. The primary goal is to provide information to all citizens for all sectors of society.

As we look of previous enlargement processes it is important that everybody is fully informed about the integration process, said Ambassador Fouéré. The integration is a complex process but our role is to bring the integration and the concept of the EU closer to the citizens. Our desire is to make this centre a focal point for all activities connected to the EU. And we will make this center and its premises available for all organizations for their activities which are related to the EU, said Ambassador Fouéré.

Existence of such Information Centres facilitates the dissemination of information related to the European Union said Elizabeta Kancevska Milevska, Minister of Culture. EU enlargement brings new challenges which are entailing more intense focus on the essential values of tolerance and respect, said Kancevska Milevska. She emphasized that the country will never forget the help that EU delivered to the country throughout the years.

The official opening of the EU Info centre mark the start of an Inauguration Month at the EU InfoCentre which will comprise various events for different audiences in the country: an open day with Ambassador Erwan Fouéré, a debates on how to best communicate issues related to the European Union, a round table on arts and intercultural dialog, photo exhibition “EU – widened lenses” as well as visits from elementary schools, high schools and universities, etc.

The doors of the EU InfoCentre are open for everyone: students, teachers, farmers, academics, researchers, journalists, workers, businessman, civil servant, etc. Citizens can obtain there a wide range of information related to the EU. Visitors can obtain answers about the EU in many ways – printed materials, Internet, TV, debates, round tables, lectures, etc.

The Information Centre will offer access to latest news, facts and figures, legal documents, texts, statistics, maps, books as well as to information about the opportunities for using the EU pre- accession funds or the community programmes.