Skopje, 10 July 2024 (MIA) – The National Bank is continuously working on adopting and implementing best practices and standards to align more closely with the European System of Central Banks. It stands firmly committed to building institutional and analytical capacities for more successful responding to the challenges in the subsequent stages of the EU integration process. These National Bank activities have been embedded in an EU funded programme for supporting central banks and banking supervisory agencies in the Western Balkans, as noted in the meeting between National Bank Governor Anita Angelovska-Bezhoska and Austrian Ambassador Martin Pammer.

At the meeting, as reported by the National Bank, the discussions focused on the increased efforts made by the Bank over the past few years to align the national legal framework for payments with European Union regulations. These activities have established a foundation for the central bank to formally start the process of joining the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) in the near future.

“This is a key step for ongoing development and integration of the domestic financial system into the European economic area. Joining SEPA will bring many benefits to citizens, businesses, and the overall economy by ensuring quicker, more efficient, and less costly euro payments to and from SEPA member countries, simplifying procedures, increasing transparency and enhancing consumer protection,” Angelovska-Bezhoska said.

Both the Governor and Austrian Ambassador Pammer highlighted the importance of the cooperation between the National Bank and the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), the central bank of the Republic of Austria within the second phase of the EU-funded regional programme for strengthening the institutional capacity of the central banks in the Western Balkans.

Within the project, the experts from the Oesterreichische Nationalbank have shared their knowledge in data management with employees of the Statistics Department and the Information Technology Department of the National Bank, which contributed to institutional capacity building and will be a useful tool in taking further steps to implement data management across the National Bank.

Photo: National Bank