Skopje, 14 May 2026 (MIA) — Eliminating corruption requires the participation of every sector of society rather than "declarative efforts," officials and business leaders said at a conference Thursday.

The conference, titled "Business Integrity for a Competitive Economy," highlighted that the fight against corruption needs to involve the public and private sectors, academia, nongovernmental organizations and members of the public. Participants said previous efforts had failed because they were largely symbolic.

State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption head Adem Chuchulj said the public and private sectors were deeply linked. He said it was impossible to have integrity in one without the other.

"Raising the integrity in the public sector will raise the integrity in the private sector. Corruption is two-sided," Chuchulj said. 

Economic Chamber president Branko Azeski said high-ranking officials and businesspeople often avoided the topic of corruption. He said the root of the problem was in the bloated state administration of at least 150,000 employees. 

Azeski called on the anticorruption watchdog to look into "five redundant institutions" that he said had no purpose. "The Railway Regulatory Agency, for instance. We have a regulatory agency for a monopoly. What does it regulate?" he asked.

He also said that despite decades of changing ministers and regulations, the country continued "going around in circles" because it lacked a national platform against corruption. 

According to Azeski, the corruption problem cannot be solved by a single government or chamber but by the people.

"We need to create a platform supported by all the people and all the institutions. If the first person steals, everyone steals, but if someone honest comes, no one will steal," Azeski said. 

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski told attendees that the government needed to protect domestic companies while facing reality. 

"The question is whether we want to be nice in front of the public, in front of an audience, in reports and talk about transparency and accountability — or to see things as they are, to look in the mirror and admit that we have essential problems," Nikoloski said.

The conference was organized as part of the project "Clean Business North Macedonia: Mobilizing SMEs as Champions Against Corruption," funded by the European Union.

Participants included German Ambassador Petra Drexler, EU Delegation Deputy Head of Mission Ben Nupnau, Konrad Adenauer Foundation's Rule of Law Program for South East Europe director Pavel Usvatov, Association of Business Women president Valentina Disoska and Marquardt Macedonia finance manager Snezhana Zdraveska. mr/