The fourth annual Jean Monnet Awarding Ceremony for best journalistic materials on European Union related issues took place at the Mala Stanica Cultural Centre in Skopje, on Friday, 15 December. The ceremony was attended by representatives of both electronic and print media, spokespersons and other representatives of the government, ambassadors representing the EU Member States and other representatives of the international community.

The ‘Jean Monnet’ prize is awarded for outstanding achievements in covering EU matters and increasing awareness about the pre-accession process of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the European Union. This year, for the first time, the competition included not only print, but also electronic media.

In his address to the guests, the EU Special Representative and Head of the Delegation of the European Union, Ambassador Erwan Fouéré, emphasised the crucial role of media in the next few years with the expected launching of negotiations for EU accession.

The 2006 Jean Monnet Prize was awarded to Mr Bobi Hristov from the Macedonian language daily VREME.

Mr Dusko Arsovski, Editor of EVROMAK Magazine produced by the public broadcaster – the Macedonian Radio Television, was given award for special achievements in covering EU related matters.

The evaluation of the submissions was carried out by an independent jury, consisting of Ms Lidija Dimova from the Macedonian Centre for EU training and Chairwoman of the Jean Monnet Jury, Ms Hajke Joveska from the German Embassy, Mr Salajdin Salihu, Editor-in-Chief in the Albanian language daily "Nacional", Ms Biljana Petkovska from the Macedonian Institute for Media and Mr Konstantin Jovanovski from Delegation of the European Union in Skopje.