Skopje, 11 March 2026 (MIA) - North Macedonia has finished half of the job regarding the implementation of the Energy Community legislation. There is progress is certain areas but lots of work lies ahead, shows the 2025 Energy Community report that director Artur Lorkowski presented in the Parliament on Wednesday.

"North Macedonia is somewhere in the middle. You deserve more. Half of the job is done but the other half is still left. This is a call for mobilization and more work in in 2026. The Energy Community and me pesonally will be happy to support you on this path," Lorkowski told MPs.

On market integration, Lorkowski said the transposition must be completed, noting that the law has been adopted in the Parliament but implementation by the Government and the regulatory authorities is pending.

"The Parliament has done its job, it is now up to the Government and the regulatory authorities to finish the job regarding the transposition process. We hope that North Macedonia will follow Serbia and Montenegro in starting the verification process that should result in giving your market the green light for merging with the EU market," said Lorkowski.

Regarding electricity and natural gas, the EC director said there is strong convergence with the market in Greece and lower prices, adding this should also happen with natural gas, so the country can work on better integration with the other markets, resulting in lower prices and more security.

"The opening of new interconnectors with Greece is expected to reduce gas prices," added Lorkowski.

On decarbonization, he said one of the things that the country should work on is adopting a long-term strategy.

"There are some positive developments but elements that need to be improved as well. The long-term strategy has still not been adopted and we need to work on this in the coming months and years," said Lorkowski.

The country has not made progress in the part of monitoring CO2 emissions or environmental legislation.

"There is no progress in the monitoring. North Macedonia has set up a mechanism for CO2 emissions but we will have to focus on this in the coming period and hopefully make progress. Environmental legislation needs to be aligned with the EU law and we hope it will happen," said Lorkovski and urged the country's authorities to refrain from making decisions that would hinder the financial independence of regulatory authorities.

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