EC Report notes limited progress in consumer and health protection
Skopje, 15 October 2022 (MIA) – North Macedonia remains moderately prepared in the area of consumer and health protection, notes the 2022 EC Progress Report. The Commission’s notes in terms of this area are mainly moderately prepared or no progress.
“The health sector in North Macedonia still faces losses of medical staff, as nurses and specialists, who are moving, either move to the private sector or leave to work abroad. This contributes to issues accessing specialists, out-of-pocket health care costs remain high, and there is still a lack of professional training for using some advanced health equipment,” reads the report.
The European Commission notes that the country has still not ratified the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
“There was no progress on tobacco control. The institutional and legal setup is in place and is in line with the EU acquis, but it is not systematically implemented – smoking in public areas and restaurants should be sanctioned in line with the EU acquis,” the report says.
In terms of communicable diseases, the EC notes that North Macedonia is partly aligned to the EU acquis.
“The 2019-2023 National Strategy for control of antimicrobial resistance is in line with the conclusions of the Council of the European Union. North Macedonia is gradually recovering of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number of positive cases, hospitalised patients and fatalities decreased constantly,” notes the Commission.
The country has abolished most preventive measures. The authorities report that 75 % of the population has recovered from COVID-19 and consider that they gained natural immunity, 47 % of people received two COVID-19 vaccine doses, and 7 % received a third dose.
“There has been some progress on blood, tissues, cells and organs. The law on blood supply safety is in line with the EU acquis. There is no plasma-collecting centre, and no plasma fractionation plants, though plasmaphereses are performed at the Institute for Transfusion Medicine. The number of transplantations performed again increased in 2021. A bone-tissue bank has been established, collecting material to be used for transplantation,” the EC says.
The report notes national legislation is still not aligned with the EU acquis on patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare.
“On health inequalities, the programme for active healthcare allows several target groups to access healthcare, including the Roma community, and people living in remote areas can get visits by doctors,” the report reads.
The Ministry of Health has a programme for people with HIV/AIDS that provides funds for testing and basic monitoring tests, and antiretroviral therapy is available to all diagnosed patients. However, the overall budget for HIV/AIDS prevention was cut by 40%, threatening the treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS prevention efforts.
“The main beneficiaries of these funds are non-governmental organisations that work directly with risk groups. The new strategy to combat HIV is yet to be not adopted,” the EC adds.
Funding for cancer screening remains insufficient. The national cancer register is functional and regularly fed with new data. The national programme for early detection of cancer is operational.
The national strategy 2021-2030 covers the aspects of mental health, health promotion, nutrition and physical activity. The national registers on rare diseases are operational, and the relevant definitions are in line with EU standards.
In terms of consumer protection, the report notes that the country needs to align the legal framework with the EU acquis on consumer protection, and strengthen the operational structures serving consumer protection.
The European Commission recommends that the country intensifies efforts on tobacco control by effectively implementing the EU acquis on this and by ratifying the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. The report also notes it is necessary to ensure adequate funding and specialised knowledge for early detection of cancer and rare diseases based in data from the registers.
“There was no progress in adopting the new law on consumer protection, and no progress was reported on capacity building or public investment in this area, though some progress was made in aligning the national product safety rules with the EU acquis. The next three-year Consumer Protection Strategy is yet to be adopted,” reads the report.
Inspections by the State Market Inspectorate increased in the reporting period, to a total of 3 566 inspections. The web platform providing information on consumer protection still needs to be developed. The mediation scheme continues to be expensive and difficult for consumers to access.
“In 2021, the Inspectorate carried out 473 inspections under the general product safety law (up from 428 in 2020) and 131 inspections under the construction products law (up from 20 in 2020). Following these inspections, the Inspectorate withdrew harmful products from the market, mostly toys, lights, protective gloves, motorcycle helmet and children’s clothing. The Inspectorate has 278 employees but has an insufficient number of licenced inspectors (only 171) and many staff are close to retirement. On non-safety-related issues further efforts are needed to define the guidance and procedure for consumers’ appeals and means of compensation,” show data from this year’s EC Progress Report.
