Skopje, 4 April 2025 (MIA) – Asked on the progress of the procedure for the law on equitable representation at a press conference on Friday, Minister of Public Administration Goran Minchev said a group of experts in the area of constitutional law is working on the bill, but at the moment he cannot say how far ahead is the content. He added that a draft version of the bill should be sent to the Venice Commission and will then enter parliamentary procedure.

“As you know, a working group of experts in the area of constitutional law has been set up within the Government, which is drafting the content of the law on equitable representation. As a Minister, I am not part of that working group, and therefore I would not be able to say at this moment how far ahead the content of that law is. I would like to point out that the equitable representation of ethnic communities in the state, in accordance with the Ohrid Agreement, is a constitutional category,” said Minchev. 

He stressed that it is good to have experts working on the bill.

“I insisted, and it is good that experts are working on that legal solution, so that we do not find ourselves in the same situation again, in terms of a possible submission to the Constitutional Court and re-annulment of certain articles of the current law. Constitutional law experts are a guarantee that such a law will be made, which as a draft version or a proposal version of that legal solution will be sent to the Venice Commission and will then enter parliamentary procedure,” Minchev said. 

As regards announcements that as of March 1, wages of administrative employees will increase by an average of eight percent on a gross basis, Minchev said alignment of wages was a proposal from the Ministry of Public Administration, and legal solutions are in the final phase.

“At a press conference I announced a package of four reform laws in the public administration and I said that alignment of wages was a proposal from the Ministry of Public Administration. All these legal solutions were then sent to the competent institutions, including the Ministry of Finance, which should express their opinion on the content of the text of these draft legal solutions. Currently, they are in the final phase,” Minchev said. 

He added that a working group within the Ministry of Public Administration is drafting a final version of the text of these bills together with domestic experts, but international experts are also involved. He noted that a session of the Council for Public Administration Reforms, which is led by the Prime Minister, has been held. Minchev hopes that by the end of this month, or rather by the end of April, they will be sent to government procedure. He hopes that they will be adopted by the Parliament by the end of May or the beginning of June.

“Until we have the final version, I cannot comment on how much the alignment of wages will be. As you know, linearly, in accordance with the current legal solutions, everyone in the public administration received an increase in their wages in the amount of Mden 1,800, as of April,” said Minchev. 

Photo: MIA