Skopje is hosting Tuesday a national conference for strategic environmental impact assessment that aims at exchanging experiences between experts from Macedonia, the Netherlands and Slovenia.

Strategic environmental impact assessment is a segment, which needs to be applied by municipalities, investors and institutions, according to Minister of Environment and Physical Planning, Abdilaqim Ademi.

He expressed hope that after the conference, strategic assessment would not be perceived as an administrative barrier anymore, but as an instrument contributing to reaching better decisions.

"I expect the conference to boost our confidence that we're heading into the right direction in terms of applying the procedure for strategic assessment. I also hope we will be able to address other challenges following the conference," Ademi stressed.

EU's environmental laws and their complexity are a challenge for EU members and candidate countries, according to Dutch ambassador Marriet Schuurman. She underscored that a lot of work and time was necessary for meeting obligations stemming from the EU legislation.

"As an EU candidate country, Macedonia will have to abide by very strict environmental demands in order to fully meet environmental standards. All notable factors in the society, including governmental organisations, international and business community as well as civil associations must be mobilised, because everyone will benefit from high environmental standards, Schuurman said.

The national conference for strategic environmental impact assessment wraps up a two-year project executed by the Macedonian Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning and the Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment (NCEA).