Brussels, 30 October 2024 (MIA) - North Macedonia has consistently stated its political commitment to the strategic goal of EU integration and its ambition to move forward in the accession negotiations, this is outlined in the 2024 European Commission (EC) Progress Report on North Macedonia, which was released on Wednesday.

“Following the first Intergovernmental Conference on accession negotiations on 19 July 2022, the screening sessions for all six clusters were completed on 7 December 2023. North Macedonia continued to implement the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and the joint bodies under the agreement met,” reads the Report.

The Report also notes that essential EU-related reforms need to be implemented. North Macedonia maintained good relations with other enlargement countries and continued its engagement in regional initiatives.

“Existing bilateral agreements with neighbouring countries need to be implemented in good faith by all parties, including the Prespa Agreement between North Macedonia and Greece and the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation with Bulgaria,” states the Report.

The Report emphasizes that despite attempts, thus far, no progress was made on adopting the constitutional changes, with a view to including in the Constitution citizens who live within the borders of the State and who are part of other peoples, such as Bulgarians, as referred to in the Council Conclusions of 18 July 2022, which the country committed to launch and achieve.

“The institutions in charge of the integration process are in place. The new government established a Ministry of European Affairs, replacing the Secretariat for European Affairs. Following the successful completion of the screening process, North Macedonia needs to continue strengthening its EU negotiating structures and achieve sound coordination across line ministries and institutions, while further developing EU-acquis-related expertise across the public administration. Permanent and decisive steps are needed to accelerate the implementation of EU reforms and move forward in the EU accession negotiation process. Cross-party collaboration remains vital in this regard,” reads the Report.

The Report notes that North Macedonia maintained its full alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security policy, including on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, sending a strong signal of its strategic choice of EU accession and showing itself, once more, to be a reliable partner.

“In 2023, North Macedonia has played an active role in a complex geopolitical context during its term as chair of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the EC underlines.

It also notes that North Macedonia has actively engaged in the implementation of the new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans across its four pillars: gradual integration with the EU single market, regional economic integration, fundamental reforms and increased financial support.

“Its Reform Agenda covers reform milestones in the areas of: governance, public administration reform and public financial management; green and digital transition; human capital; private sector development and business environment; and fundamental rights and the rule of law. The Commission’s 2024 rule of law report covered North Macedonia for the first time,” reads the Report.

The Report notes that the conduct of the elections was mostly satisfactory. The parliamentary and presidential elections were competitive. Fundamental freedoms were respected. The election legislation provides a suitable framework for holding democratic elections.

“However, limited progress was made on addressing the outstanding recommendations of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Venice Commission. North Macedonia should implement the recommendations rapidly and well before the next elections,” states the Report.

It also notes that the Parliament was found to exercise its powers in a mostly satisfactory way. However, political polarisation in Parliament persisted, delaying the adoption of important reforms and several long-overdue appointments… Parliament should plan and adopt its agenda carefully and limit the use of fast-track legislative procedures or inappropriate use of the ‘EU flag’ procedure, which has been the practice up to now. Cross-party collaboration is essential to accelerate the implementation of EU-related reforms, in the interest of citizens.

The EC also underlines that a reform of local self-government is urgently needed and the dialogue between different levels of government should be relaunched.

“Inter-ethnic relations remained stable, and the Ohrid Framework Agreement continued to be implemented. Civil society organisations (CSOs) in North Macedonia operate in an overall enabling environment. However, the government should increase its efforts to mainstream civil society engagement in priority areas and in consultation activities. Existing legal and financial frameworks still need to be amended and implemented, particularly to provide consistent mechanisms for providing transparent public funding to CSOs,” the EC notes.

The Report also notes that North Macedonia remains moderately prepared in the area of public administration reform. Limited progress was made during the reporting period, notably the adoption of amendments to the Law on state organisation, which brought about improvements by clarifying lines of accountability, introducing impact assessments for the creation of new state bodies and decreasing the number of primary budget users.

“The Commission’s recommendations from last year were not fully implemented and therefore remain largely valid,” reads the Report.

It also underlines that North Macedonia is between having some and a moderate level of preparation in applying the EU acquis and European standards in this area. Overall, there was limited progress on strengthening judicial independence and improving the legal framework for protecting fundamental rights.

“The new government's announcements of plans to 'dissolve' the Judicial and Prosecution Councils are a matter of serious concern, as such actions would undermine the independence of the judiciary. The rising deficit in human resources in the judiciary raises concerns for impacting the quality and efficiency of justice,” states the Report.

In the coming year, North Macedonia should in particular adopt a new Law on civil procedure, in line with European standards and start implementing the new strategy on judicial reform; strengthen the Judicial Council by revising the legislative framework and its overall functioning to enhance its transparency and independence, in line with the recommendations of the 2023 peer review mission, and step up the implementation of the human resources strategies for the judiciary and the prosecution; ensure that the automated court case management information system (ACCMIS) is fully functional and compatible with level of complexity of court cases and the method for assessing judges and presidents of courts, the Report notes.

“North Macedonia is between having some level of preparation and a moderate level of preparation and made no progress in the prevention and fight against corruption. Corruption remains prevalent in many areas and is an issue of serious concern. The current government has stated that the fight against corruption is a priority,” states the Report.

According to the EC, the institutional framework for the fight against corruption is in place and is satisfactory in terms of preventive measures. However, improvement is needed on law enforcement.

“The amendments to the Criminal Code of September 2023 weakened the legal framework, negatively affecting the prosecution of corruption, especially in high-level cases. Many ongoing cases were terminated either because the statute of limitations had expired or because specific offences, such as the abuse of office in public procurement, no longer exist,” reads the Report.

The Commission’s recommendations from last year were not fully addressed and therefore remain valid. In the coming year, North Macedonia should in particular: adopt a new Criminal Code in line with the EU acquis and international standards. Improve its track record in high-level corruption cases – with timely, professional, and transparent proactive investigations, prosecutions, final convictions, and recovery, including confiscation of criminal assets, value-based confiscation, extended confiscation and third-party confiscation; allocate sufficient human and financial resources, including financial experts, to the Office of the Basic Public Prosecutor for Organised Crime and Corruption to ensure effective accountability in high-level corruption cases; and to the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption to improve the verification of assets declarations and the oversight of election campaign financing.

The Report also notes that the legal framework on the protection of fundamental rights is partially aligned with the EU acquis and European standards. The country continues to meet its general obligations on fundamental rights, but legislation should be implemented in a systematic manner.

It also underlines that in the coming year, the country should in particular: address the dire conditions in prisons and continue the efforts to promote alternatives to incarceration and implement relevant recommendations on detention conditions, allocate the necessary resources to the Ombudsman's Office and to the Commission for the Prevention and Protection against Discrimination to enable them to fulfil their mandate and provide adequate support to vulnerable categories of children, especially children victims of violence, Roma children and children with disabilities.

“North Macedonia is between having some level of preparation and a moderate level of preparation on freedom of expression and has made limited progress in this area and the country should in particular: continue to revise the legal framework governing the media to align it with the EU acquis and European standards, notably by introducing rules on full transparency in media ownership and advertising, competition and State aid, and intellectual property rights, in accord with the EU single market; implement the strategy to reform the Public Broadcaster and appoint the Public Service Broadcaster’s Programme Council and the Media Regulator’s Council; continue to promptly address all threats and acts of violence against journalists and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice,” states the Report.

The Report also covers the functioning of the market economy, the state of public procurement, statistics and financial control, the internal market, the free movement of goods and workers, intellectual property, competitiveness, financial services, consumer protection and health, and digital transformation as well as economic, monetary, and social policy, education, culture, science and research, the green agenda, transportation, energy, the environment and climate change, natural resources, agriculture, and cohesion.

North Macedonia has been participating in the Stabilisation and Association process since 1999. North Macedonia has been a candidate country since 2005. On 26 March 2020, the European Council endorsed the Council’s decision to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia. The first Intergovernmental Conference took place on 19 July 2022, following the approval by the Council of the negotiating framework. The Commission launched the screening process on the same day, the Report notes.