Skopje, 12 January 2024 (MIA) — Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski said proposed amendments to the Law on Restrictive Measures, in addition to the legal acts by the UN and the EU, would include those by the United States and the United Kingdom as a basis for courts to order sanctions be levied against entities in North Macedonia.

Speaking at a press conference Friday, PM Kovachevski said the updates would expand the process already in the law of levying sanctions against individuals or companies already sanctioned by the UN and EU.

Now, he said, the procedure would also include legal acts issued by the USA and the United Kingdom as basis for the sanctioning process.

It would become possible for the countries that had levied sanctions against entities to provide evidence that could be used in North Macedonia's courts of law as well. This, Kovachevski said, was also requested by the international community, especially considering the country's NATO membership.

"NATO is not just about putting up a flag to show you are a NATO member state," the PM said.

"There are also standards to be met. We already meet these standards in many institutions. One of the standards will be this one," he added.

Asked whether individuals and companies blacklisted in the US would be banned from taking part in state tenders, Kovachevski said sanctions should be levied against "persons sanctioned by our largest strategic partner, the US [...] given that one cannot boast about being best friends with the US in the morning, and do everything against them in the afternoon." mr/