The potential of the Decade of Action to reduce casualties in Central & South East Europe was the subject for a roundtable in Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on 24th September 2010. 
The roundtable was organised within the FIA Foundation’s Make Roads Safe campaign, in partnership with the FIA, the national automobile association for FYROM – AMSM – and the EASST. The aim was to highlight the importance of road safety as an emerging issue and raise awareness of the forthcoming Decade of Action for Road Safety among Governments, FIA clubs, media and all interested parties in the region of Central and South East Europe. According to WHO’s ‘European Status Report on Road Safety 2009,’ 120 000 people die annually and 2.4 million people are injured in road crashes in the region. One third of the countries do not have a national, multi-sectoral strategy on road safety.
The meeting was opened by Mr Trajko Veljanoski, President of the Assembly of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, who also took part in an announcement of the new road safety ‘Tag’ together with Mr Werner Kraus, President of the FIA Region 1 and OAMTC; Mr Spase Jovkovski, President of the AMSM; and other high-profile regional speakers at the event, including EASST Director Emma MacLennan and EASST Partner Dmitry Sambuk.
Dmitry Sambuk, who is also International Coordinator for the Make Roads Safe campaign, said: “Today we looked at some essential elements of the Decade – road users, roads and vehicles – and also discussed how we can implement road safety improvements in this region. There is clearly an excitement and appetite for serious action to reduce road casualties across the region.”
