The training was opened by Daniel Braun, Official Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, who noted that the cooperation between KAS and VMRO-DPMNE continues at several different levels. At the same time, he stressed that this cooperation should contribute to improving the situation in the municipalities. Braun underlined the support that KAS gives for strengthening the capacities of several structures within VMRO-DPMNE, as well as the direct support to the mayors to successfully manage the municipalities. Regarding the functioning of the local self-government in the country, he pointed out that the citizens expect more, and that perhaps there are projects from the previous mayors with a good basis that can be used, and that everything should be done to use the limited resources in the municipal administration. Braun also called for constructive cooperation with the opposition within the municipalities, but also called for networking and better communication between the mayors, and stressed the importance of exchanging experiences, as well as the implementation of joint projects. He also highlighted the fact that in Germany local politics is not considered as a small politics, it is a business card for the mayor, the party, its politics. How citizens perceive the work and functioning of the local self-government, whether it is the waste management, environmental issues and problems, infrastructure, administration or other services, is a matter of their perception on the functioning of the state as a whole. When the citizens do not trust the institutions and the local administration, then everyone, all parties and the whole society lose.
David McAllister, Vice President of the European People's Party, also made an opening address, welcoming the cooperation between KAS and VMRO-DPMNE via video conference, with special reference to the excellent result of VMRO-DPMNE in the local elections and the great victory. That victory, said McAllister, is a result of the people's disappointment with the lack of reforms at the local level, as well as the offer and program of the mayors from VMRO-DPMNE. According to McAllister, "now the mayors of VMRO-DPMNE have the chance to change things for the better, for the benefit of the citizens." Emphasizing the importance of joining the EU, McAllister reaffirmed the EPP's support for VMRO-DPMNE and the Euro-integration path of the country.
The President of VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, also made an opening address and expressed his gratitude for the cooperation with KAS, emphasizing the importance of creating successful and quality policies at the local level, especially in the fields of economy and investments, protection of the environment and digitalisation. According to Mickoski, in order to solve the problems of the citizens, the mayors need to be responsible in their work, demonstrating zero tolerance for corruption, encouragement of initiatives at the local and regional level for opening new businesses, and successful planning and implementation of the promises given to the citizens.
Zoran Stavreski, former Minister of Finance, also addressed the participants. Stavreski focused on two aspects faced by mayors - negative macroeconomic indicators as a result of domestic and international factors, as well as the issue of good governance. According to Stavreski, the economic remedy should be responsible conduct in collecting and spending funds, proper policies, and implementation of essential projects for citizens.
The welcoming addresses were completed by Stefan Andonovski, Head of PRAC of VMRO-DPMNE "Ljubisa Georgievski". Andonovski referred to the vision of the research center in organizing this type of training, whose main task is to serve the mayors in running the municipalities.
In the working part of the first day, Victor Mizo, Director of KOSTAL, one of the most important German investments in the country, addressed the participants. Mizo spoke about the positioning of municipalities in attracting and managing foreign and domestic investments in their territory. According to Mizo, mayors have a serious impact on attracting and retaining investments in their municipalities, by reducing the difficulties of doing business, administrative procedures, and finding modalities of support.
The first day was closed by Zarko Hadzi-Zafirov and Jugoslav Gjorgievski, representatives of the Center for Legal Research and Analysis - Skopje, who addressed the topic of competencies of local self-government in environmental protection. The speakers focused on the creation of policies and action plans for the municipalities in this area, strategies, and methods for improving the inspection, as well as the need for inter-municipal institutional organization in the area of environmental protection. According to the speakers, all this is because the damage to the environment does not depend on a specific location, municipality, or country, but is a broader phenomenon, which is how this problem should be approached.
The second day of the training included quality and very useful presentations by predominantly German experts in the field of economics, project management, and environmental protection. Ralf Güldenzopf, Head of Strategic Planning and Urban Development at City of Oberhausen, who spoke via video conference, focused on specific examples and strategies for modern city management. Güldenzopf, in particular, focused on ways to overcome the challenges of change in the city and offered modern and innovative methods, strategies, and approaches to running and reforming municipalities.
Furthermore, Johannes Heidecker, Advisor at Office of the Prime Minister, focused on the aspect of political solutions for local economic development and the creation of successful local economies. He particularly referred to approaches to how a city can become business-friendly by underlining economic reforms in the local administration and supporting local tourism. Gerold Schnabl, Integrated Expert at GIZ, focused on the Expert Fund for Municipal Partnerships Worldwide, as well as on ensuring sustainable development through inter-municipal partnerships. Klaus Richter, Team Leader "EU for Municipalities" Programme, explained to the audience the best practices for the development of municipalities with donor funds, analysing the positive and negative practices of the applicants, as well as ways to improve them.
Covering the topic "Effective green policies on local level", Mila Jovanovska from the Go Green - Association for sustainable development and environmental protection, focused on the challenges and the current state of the environment, and offered modalities and ways to improve these conditions.
Marija Vasilevska from the Center for Social Innovations BLINK 42-2 addressed the audience on the last day of the training, talking about the need for digitalisation of municipal services. Vasilevska especially focused on the benefits and successes in building an active digital community for a more efficient municipality through the application "mZaednica".
On the second day, Aleksandar Spasenovski from the Faculty of Law also addressed the participants and presented the responsibilities of the mayors in building municipalities based on good governance and zero tolerance for corruption. The presentation was supplemented with an overview of the Integrity Handbook of the Municipality of Aerodrom, prepared within the project of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Faculty of Law "Iustinianus Primus" - Skopje and the Municipality of Aerodrom "Creating a European Municipality: Integrity Policy for Zero Corruption".
In the final part of the concluding observations of the training, the discussions were joined by Davor Pasoski, from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and Stefan Andonovski, Head of PRAC "Ljubisa Georgievski". This part included a discussion with mayors about the needs and priorities for creating modern municipalities. In that sense, several conclusions and recommendations were made, such as the conclusion that it is extremely important for all municipalities to detect various sources of funding, such as credit lines, increase the tax base, projects funded by donors, etc. The need for rational spending was highlighted, with emphasis on the implementation of projects that are vital for the citizens (especially infrastructure projects, but also projects related to the digitalisation of municipal services, environmental protection, etc.). It was also suggested that in future trainings, in addition to the mayors, people from their teams to be included in order to more efficiently build the capacities and transfer the knowledge and experiences to them, as an important segment in the process of providing efficient municipal administration. It was concluded that the mayors should establish regular mutual communication practices, to deepen inter-municipal cooperation, networking, and sharing of positive experiences.
The training focused on creating adequate economic and social policies that guarantee an increased level of economic activity in the municipalities, efficient care for the environment, sustainable local development, as well as modern digital strategies for accountability at work. In that sense, KAS and VMRO-DPMNE are going to continue with the extremely useful cooperation.
