Skopje, 11 November 2023 (MIA) - North Macedonia has a good level of preparation in the area of science and research. Some progress was made on strengthening the research and innovation capacity of the public and private sector by increasing the budget for science, by developing the yet to be adopted smart specialisation strategy and through the country’s continuous improvement in the Horizon Europe participation.

However, some of last year's recommendations remain valid, notes the European Commission (EC) in its 2023 Progress Report on the country.

According to the EC, in the coming year the country should increase investment in research in line with the new European Research Area priorities, develop dedicated measures aiming to promote and increase participation in Horizon Europe and other relevant EU financing instruments in this area, and adopt the smart specialisation strategy and start developing measures for its implementation. 

The report notes that some progress was made to align with European standards on research and innovation. The budget for science in 2022 and 2023 has been increased significantly compared to 2021 (to approximately EUR 3.5 million from EUR 1.3 million). However, investment in research and innovation continues to remain low, at 0.38% of GDP, while the participation of the private sector in the overall research is even lower, at 0.1% of GDP. 

It adds that the country’s participation in Horizon Europe, the EU’s framework programme for research and innovation, has continued to increase, reaching for 2022 (according to data availability at publication date), 10 projects with EUR 4 million funding, surpassing the whole 2021 performance. However, authorities need to strengthen their participation in the new European Research Area and in the new European Innovation Agenda.

On innovation, the European Innovation Scoreboard classifies for a second consecutive year North Macedonia as an ‘emerging innovator’ marking however an increase in its score performance from 45.6% in 2022 to 46.3% of the EU average in 2023. In 2022, the Fund for Innovation and Technological Development committed nearly EUR 16.5 million to support innovation and research in 209 private companies.  

Τhe Fund’s efforts to intensify synergies between businesses and academia need to continue to increase prioritising the facilitation the green and digital transitions, notes the EC. 

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) announced that in the 2023 EIT higher education initiative, two higher education institutions from North Macedonia were selected for funding as full partners of large consortia. 

"The smart specialisation strategy, the main policy document for innovation and research with clear sector-specific priorities, has not been adopted yet, providing a safeguarded framework for an efficient use of research and innovation funds," the EC notes. 
 

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