Skopje, 10 November 2023 (MIA) - The 2023 European Commission Progress Report, compared to the one from last year, shows that the assessment on the country's ability to assume the membership obligations is higher in only one chapter - Economic and Monetary Policy. What is concerning is the lack of progress in judiciary and fight against corruption, the two key areas in Chapter 23 that is part of the Fundamentals cluster, which opens first and closes last, defining the pace of the negotiations, said European Policy Institute (EPI) president Simonida Kacarska on Friday.

Kacarska said the assessments are lower compared to 2022, with 'no progress' or 'limited progress' dominating the report instead of 'some progress'.

"The Commission does not give a higher mark lightly. It is quite conservative in this regard. There are no dramatic shifts in the reports for other countries as well, and the question now is whether North Macedonia, a country that has been a candidate for so long, has maybe reached a level that is hard to overcome unless we start accession negotiations," said Kacarska.

According to her, North Macedonia is doing very well when it comes to the ability to assume the membership obligations compared to the remaining candidates, in some aspects of the Fundamentals cluster even faring better than Serbia and Montenegro.

"This general assessment is still high, but the assessments on the progress made over the past year are lower than in 2022 and 2021. What concerns us is the lack of progress in the judiciary and the fight against corruption. These are the two key areas in Chapter 23 that is part of the Fundamentals cluster, which opens first and closes at the end of the accession negotiations. We have to work on this assessment because it is not good to see a repeat for a few years. On the other hand, the Growth Plan that the EC released includes a requirement related to the rule of law and therefore we should focus our attention to this," said Kacarska.

She added that political polarization and the Parliament, as well as the lack of electoral reforms, are also concerning.

Photo: MIA