Skopje, 24 March 2025 (MIA) - North Macedonia has received the first funds amounting to €52.4 million from the pre-financing under the EU's Reform and Growth Facility, of which €24.4 million is for budget support and has already been transferred to the Ministry of Finance.

“The country has received the funds from the pre-financing under the EU’s Reform and Growth Facility, amounting to €52.4 million, which represents seven percent of the total financial support for our country, totalling €750 million. This payment is based on the pre-financing request that I, as the national coordinator for the reform agenda, signed and submitted to the European Commission in November last year. As a result, North Macedonia is the first country in the region to receive these funds after completing the legal procedures, which means that both the loan agreement and the facility agreement have entered into force,” Minister of European Affairs Orhan Murtezani stated at a press conference on Monday.

The second important news concerning the Reform Agenda, as Minister Murtezani noted, is that on March 14, the country submitted its first request to the European Commission for the release of €17.1 million in addition funds for the implementation of reform measures, with a final deadline of December 2024, which was later extended by the European Commission to February 2025. The reforms included: the adoption of the Law on Public Internal Financial Control, the passing of bylaws under the Budget Law, the operationalization of structures for a just transition, the adoption of the 2025 Plan, changes to the Companies Law regarding criteria for selecting members of supervisory and management boards, and in the judiciary, the filling of vacant positions in the courts and the prosecution.

Out of the €17.1 million, €7.96 million is allocated for direct budget support, while the remaining €9.11 million will be used for investment projects through the joint fund of the Western Balkans Investment Framework.

“The funds will available once the Commission completes the assessment of the reform implementation, which has a deadline of 90 working days,” Murtezani said.

In response to a journalist's question, Murtezani said that of the total €52.4 million, €24.4 million has already been transferred to the Ministry of Finance's account at the National Bank, €15 million is a grant and has been transferred to the Western Balkans Investment Framework, while the remaining €13 million is a loan, which is in the payment procedure and has also been transferred to the Western Balkans Investment Framework. 

He noted that significant efforts are being made to complete steps required by June this year, which an estimated €70.6 million earmarked for the activities.

“These steps encompass key areas such as strengthening cybersecurity, complete transposition of European directives for the energy market, the adoption of a new law on electronic communications, better management of electronic documents and archival material, increasing inspections by market and labour inspectors, particularly in construction, tourism and agriculture, along with ongoing reforms in the judiciary,” Murtezani said.

He emphasized that the annual report for the reform agenda, which was submitted to the European Commission, provides a clear and detailed overview of the specific achievements so far, along with measurable results for the upcoming period.

In response to a journalist's question on whether a postponement has been requested for some of the obligations in the judiciary, specifically whether the laws required for implementation by June have been sent to the Venice Commission and if a delay has been requested, Murtezani stated that everything defined in the Reform Agenda, which has been approved by both the Government and the European Commission, cannot have its deadlines extended.

“However, according to the regulations, if we fail to implement a certain reform by June, it means that a grace period of 12 months will come into effect starting from June. During those additional 12 months, we will need to complete all the obligations we have undertaken. However, anything that is postponed, meaning everything that enters the grace period, means that all current reforms that have not been implemented and those that are yet to follow will accumulate towards the end. Considering our institutional capacity to implement reforms, the more we delay until the end, the less will be implemented,” he said, adding that there is no information at this time about whether the laws related to the judiciary have been submitted to the Venice Commission.

Asked when the list of infrastructure projects to be funded with this aid would be announced, Murtezani said that the list has been reduced to 22 projects, which, according to him, are at a sufficient maturity level. He noted that these projects should start being implemented by the second half of 2027, given the requirements.

“Considering that the previous list of indicative projects was more of a wish list rather than something we would like to achieve at some point, and the total value of that list exceeded €4 billion, and considering that we have €401 million available for projects under the Reform Agenda, we were forced to revise that list. I believe that the approval process for the list has been completed, and if it has not yet been published on the Ministry's website, it will be very soon,” Murtezani stated.

The Growth Plan for the Western Balkans to support the Western Balkan countries' path to EU membership

The EU approved the reform agendas of the Western Balkans countries – North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo – in September last year, under the new Reform and Growth Facility worth €6 billion, known as the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

According to the formula outlined in the regulation for the Reform and Growth Facility, adopted by the European Parliament and the EU Council, the country is expected to receive €750.4 million for the 2024-2027 period, allocated in several tranches. The release of these funds will depend on the implementation of specific qualitative and quantitative measures related to the planned reforms.

The Council of the European Union approved the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans at the beginning of May 2024, which, with the additional €6 billion secured, is intended to support the countries on their path to EU membership.

Photo: MIA archive