Skopje, 8 April 2025 (MIA) – A new interagency body for coordination of anti-corruption activities was set up at the Government on Tuesday. The body is responsible for establishing coordination between all key institutions in the fight against corruption. 

According to Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, the body represents a step forward in the attempt to establish a functional and synchronized system that will stand in the way of corruption. Addressing the inaugural session, he pointed out that this body will not be just another administrative construct. 

"We are here to create a new form that will have substance, not a form without content. We want to build a mechanism that will work – quickly, efficiently and uncompromisingly," PM Mickoski said.

He noted that the interagency body has a historical responsibility to establish coordination between all key institutions, including the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, the Ministry of Interior, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Financial Police Office, the Public Revenue Office, the Customs Administration, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, etc.  

"These institutions already have competencies. What they lack is coordination, courage and responsibility," said Mickoski. 

The PM added that the judiciary and the prosecution are the weak link in the fight against corruption.

"The judiciary must restore its role – not as a silent observer, but as a key actor in this fight. We will support them with legal solutions, with a budget, with logistics, we will do everything it takes. But at the same time – we demand accountability," Mickoski said. 

Deputy PM for Good Governance and Transparency, Arben Fetai, who chairs the interagency body, stressed that corruption is not just an administrative problem, but  a national urgency.

"North Macedonia is suffering from an epidemic of corruption. We see this every day in our ruined streets, the destroyed health and infrastructure system, the degraded education, in the misery that has forced young people and our highly skilled workforce to leave the country. This must change, and it will change," he said. 

He added that the interagency body will not only be a forum for discussion and debate, but will also become a mechanism for special pressure to implement laws and anti-corruption strategies.

"We will create a strong monitoring system, we will extend influence to increase the funding and capacities of institutions to fight corruption," said Fetai. 

EU Ambassador Michalis Rokas, Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Kilian Wahl, and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy, Nicole Varnes, also addressed the event.

Photo: Government