Skopje, 10 October 2022 (MIA) – VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski proposed Monday a set of measures for the economy, businesses and the citizens which he hopes will be reviewed and accepted by the Government. Mickoski urged the Government to accept these measures, while also criticizing Sunday’s government measures as late and insufficient, saying that they do not apply to businesses. VMRO-DPMNE’s first proposal is that the excess electricity produced by ESM, during the night and the weekend, should be transferred to the businesses starting November 1 and until the end of the state of crisis. Mickoski said that in order for this to be achieved the Government would need to intervene in two laws, since Sunday is a non-working day, so that the employers can choose which day of the week they should use as a day off. The second measure proposes that the Government subsidize half of the difference for every company which pays an electricity price higher than the regulated market price. According to VMRO-DPMNE’s calculations, they are talking about fifty million in aid to the economy in order to prevent a collapse. Additionally, Mickoski proposed a VAT-free weekend for basic food products, an intervention in the Personal Income Tax Law for which they will submit amendments in Parliament, a postponing of the progressive taxation set to be implemented January 1, 2023, and the last proposed measure refers to the “desterilization of the treasury records in the National Bank.” The VMRO-DPMNE Leader said that North Macedonia is not only facing an energy crisis, but an economic one as well. “The Government’s set of measures contains nothing which would curb the rising food prices, we have the most expensive electricity in the region,” said Mickoski, assessing that the set of measures promoted by the Government on Sunday is symbolic, insufficient and an “obvious marketing trick.” ad/sk/