European House Skopje - Macedonia

Граѓански манифест за Европска Македонија

2009-07-18T16:20:00.000+02:00

Денес над Македонија не се раѓа сонцето на слободата. Денес сонцето ни заоѓа. Станува мрачно и мрак не обвива. Тешка пропагандна магла земјата ни ја покрива. Заспаноста на нашиот разум произведе илјадници политички монструми. Тие ја користат нашата рамнодушност за да и ја цицаат крвта на нашата тешко стекната држава. Го користат нашиот страв и нашата малодушност за да ги газат нашите права и слободи.
Почитувани сограѓанки и сограѓани,
Вие што сакате да живеете во европска, а не во некаква си неолитска, библиска или античка Македонија, придружете ни се во борбата против окупаторите на нашата свест и совест!
Нашата борба е за обнова на достоинството на граѓанинот. Нашата борба е против политичарите кои зборуваат за европеизација и за борба против корупција, а спроведуваат букефализација и корумпираат медиуми, судии, академици и ректори. Нашата борба е против божемните демократи кои одлучуваат зад затворени врати. Нашата борба е против народните платеници кои храмот на демократијата го претворија во срам на демократијата! Нашата борба е против властодршците кои секојдневно го злоупотребуваат името Македонија за лични, фамилијарни и партиски интереси. Нашата борба е против божемните борци за името и идентитетот кои им даваат аргументи на грчките националисти, а нас не прават заробеници на омразата кон сите Грци. Тоа се истите „борци” кои се појавуваат како грчки сведоци во судски пресуди против нашата држава, а милионските казни ги плаќаме сите ние.
Драги сограѓани и сограѓанки,
Ние не сме наивни! Не пиеме „грчка” нафта ниту пиеме „шведско” млеко од домашни крави! Знаеме што сакаме, а што не сакаме. И имаме право да се бориме против сите што ја оневозможуваат нашата интеграција во ЕУ.
Не сакаме изолирана и провинцијализирана Македонија! Сакаме држава во која ќе владее правото, а не самоволието на партиските деспоти. Сакаме држава во која граѓаните и граѓанките ќе можат слободно да избираат и да бидат избирани без страв дека ќе ги погоди куршум на гласачкото место.
Не сакаме држава во која буџетските средства се трошат за партиско рекламирање и за манипулирање со јавноста, а не за решавање на проблемите на граѓаните. Доста ни е од корумпирани газди на медиуми и преплашени новинари послушници. Доста ни е од партиски мегафони кои не трујат со теории на заговори, секојдневно јадат бурек и, во името на народот, коленичат пред „пастирот”. Не сакаме да плаќаме приредба во 100 чекори ниту преродба во 100 кампањи! Не сакаме буџетот на тајната полиција да биде поголем од буџетот за намалување на сиромаштијата и невработеноста. Не сакаме јавна администрација која наместо на граѓаните им служи на партиските врхушки. Не сакаме културна политика сведена на инструмент за политичка манипулација и националистичка демагогија. Не сакаме наместо метропола на културата Скопје да биде некропола на кичот!
Почитувани сограѓани и сограѓанки,
Не заслужуваме политичари за кои младите, студентите, земјоделците, стечајците и пензионерите се само „целни групи”. Не заслужуваме да живееме во страв од „арачот” со кој драконски се казнуваат дребни прекршувања на јавниот ред и мир. Не заслужуваме власт на која и аплаудираат ѓоамити невладини здруженија финансирани од власта. Не заслужуваме власт која пред камери сади дрвца кои не фаќаат корен и не пуштаат лисја. Не заслужуваме камери во болниците ни болнички соби кои не ги исполнуваат ниту затворските стандарди. Не сакаме власт која ни влегува во спалните соби и ги дели жените на „чедоморки” и „живоротки”.
Не ни треба власт која арчи десетици милиони евра на спотови и споменици за да не убеди дека не сме тие што сме и дека ќе бидеме она што власта мисли дека треба да бидеме. Не ни треба власт која зборува за национално единство, а создава нови национални и верски расколи. Не ни треба власт зад чие родољубие се крие себељубие, слабољубие, среброљубие и властољубие.
Почитувани граѓани и граѓанки на Европска Македонија!
Нашата борба е борба за граѓанско единство изградено врз принципи кои ги надминуваат етничките страсти. Нашата борба е за демократско општество, во кое носител на суверенитетот ќе биде граѓанинот, а не етничките, верските и партиските колективитети контролирани од вождови. Тие владеат со нас така што наместо да градат мостови - копаат јазови.
Со срце и со ум придружете ни се на походот кон Европска Македонија!
Да живее Европска Македонија!
(објавен во Дневник, извор: Геро.

Едноумие врз основа на безумие

2009-07-15T13:47:00.000+02:00

Едноумие врз основа на безумие
Главен аргумент зошто да бидат избрани на кандидативе за градоначалници од ДПМНЕ е затоа што ќе имале одлична соработка со централната власт. Некои одат до таму што ни кажуваат да се пазиме за кого ќе гласаме затоа што локалната власт била зависна од централната власт. Од ова произлегуваат неколку работи:
• Партијата на власт гради едноумие врз основа на безумие (сака да биде и централна и локална власт злоупотребувајќи ја позицијата на власт на централно ниво. Да е ниет Грујо ќе се прогласи за божество за полубог)
• Минирање на процесот на децентрализација (функционална децентрализација е еден од условите за влез во ЕУ)
• Програмата на овие кандидати е правена од страна на владата и визијата за градовите на кандидатите за градоначалници е визија на премиерот е не нивна. Уште не сфатив што имаат кандидативе на ДПМНЕ визија или програма или можеби имаат визионерска програма. Треба да разликуваат визија од реална алокација на средства за исполнување на нужностите кои ги тиштат општините. И Да Винчи имал визија за хеликоптер ама не можел да ја оствари затоа што околностите не дозволувале.
• Ова е директно го загрозува изборниот процес и го прави нефер и недемократски. Ова е класична корупција на изборниот систем. Секој правен промет изнуден под измама, уцена или заблуда е ништовен.
• Ова однесување покажува дека кандидатите за гладоначалници на ДПМНЕ немале што да понудат освен папочна врска со централната власт. Едно прашање до сите нив: Што кога централната власт ќе се смени? Ќе си поднесете оставка?

http://qzevski.blog.com.mk/

Кога робот стана робовладател

2009-07-15T13:46:00.001+02:00

Гладна кокошка просо сонува. По логиката на оваа народна мудрост би требало робот да сонува слобода. Меѓутоа повистинито е тврдењето дека робот не сонува слобода, туку сонува да биде робовладател.
Денешното грубо кршење на правото на протест, а со тоа и на правото на слободна мисла и слободно изразување, преку група насилници кои според Пастирот спонтано се собрале, се докажува тврдењето дека робот сонува да стане робовладетел. Конечно на ДПМНЕ им се остварува сонот да бидат СДСМ.
Оние кои жестоко ја обвинуваа СДСМ за кршење на правата на протест преку донесување на идиотски закон, сега преку „спонтано“ собирање и се разбира уште „поспонтано“ удирање тупаници и туркање на девојки ја практикуваат слободата која ја освоија ослободувајќи се од својот робовладател.
Дури и оваа група на луѓе да била организира од СДСМ, дури и Заев лично да присуствувал на протестот, „спонтаниве“ кои патем „спонтано“ правеа и групи на Facebook со кои го најавуваа нивното собирање, немаа никакво право да ги замолкнуваат оние кои имаат споротивно мислење од нив. Обвинувањето од ДПМНЕ дека СДСМ го организирала сето тоа не ги оправдува насилниците. Тоа значи дека ДПМНЕ не дозволува политичко дејствување. Што е наредно да се прогласат за единствена партија во Македонија, а другите да ги укинат и пратат во илегала.
Најсмешното од се е што се најавени пријави за организаторите, а за овие насилнициве ништо. Ако организаторите се криви за лошо организиран и слабо обезбеден протест, тогаш овие „спонтаниве“ се криви најмалку за три работи:
1. предизвикување општ неред,
2. физички напад
3. и учество во толпа
Добар христијанин не користи насилство и пцости како што правеа „спонтаниве“. Уште една порака за „спонтаниве“ пред да ме обвинат дека сум соросоид, шиптар, героид, комуњар и така натаму, погледнете ги моите ставови што ги имам искажно преку овој блог за: црквата, крстот на водно, веронауката итн.

KUDA IDE MAKEDONIJA?

2008-10-15T12:34:00.000+02:00

Međunarodni institut za bliskoistočne i balkanske studije (IFIMES) iz Ljubljane, pripremio je analizu aktuelne političke situacije u Makedoniji povodom priznanja nezavisnosti Republike Kosova i odbijanja najnovijeg kompromisnog prijedloga ambasadora Matthewa Nimitza o imenu „Republika Sjeverna Makedonija“. Iz opširne analize izdvajamo najvažnije i najzanimljivije dijelove.
MEĐUNARODNO IZOLIRANA DRŽAVA
Prijevremeni parlamentarni izbori u Makedoniji održani su 1.juna/lipnja 2008.godine. Sredinom oktobra protječe prvih 100 dana nove vlade (druge po redu) premijera Nikole Gruevskog (VMRO-DPMNE) sa novim albanskim partnerom Demokratskom unijom za integraciju (DUI/BDI). Iako je praksa, da „medeni mjesec“ za jednu vladu traje 100 dana, za vladu Gruevskog to traje već od jula/srpnja 2006.godine, kada je prvi put dobio izbore, tako da se slobodno može reći, da su to „medene godine“.
Makedonska opozicija odnosno Socijaldemokratska stranka (SDSM) poslije posljednjih prijevremenih parlamentarnih izbora, potpuno je poražena. SDSM je ostala i bez predsjednice Radmile Šekerinske, bivše potpredsjednice vlade za europske integracije u čije vrijeme je Makedonija, decembra/prosinca 2005.godine dobila status kandidata za članstvo u EU. To je promjena već drugog predsjednika SDSM u periodu manjem od četiri godine.
Ukoliko se uspoređuje nedavna prošlost odnosno kako je bilo prije jula/srpnja 2006.godine i kako je sada dvije i pol godine kasnije, Makedonija izgleda kao međunarodno veoma izolirana država. Poslije grčkog neprincipijelnog veta na članstvo Makedonije u NATO, Makedonija vjerojatno ni ovu, treću godinu po redu, neće dobiti pozitivan izvještaj za početak pregovora za punopravno članstvo u EU. Ako su za NATO bili „krivi“ Grci, za EU definitivno je kriva Makedonija, koja nije ispunila osam kriterija EU plus još jedan, deveti kriterij, kojeg je sama dodala, a to su bili prijevremeni izbori, koji su bili najlošiji i najnasilniji organizirani parlamentarni izbori do sada. Rezultati su poznati.
LUZERSKA POLITIKA NIKOLE GRUEVSKOG
Poslije junskih/lipanjskih izbora, Gruevski je kao svog novog koalicionog partnera izabrao Demokratsku uniju za integraciju, umjesto Demokratske partije Albanaca (DPA/PDSh), koja je bila koalicioni partner Gruevskog u prve dvije godine njegove vladavine. Prema izbornom rezultatu, kojeg mnogi osporavaju zbog neregularnosti izbora, DUI s 18 poslaničkih mjesta u parlamentu, daje još komotniju poziciju Gruevskom za dvotrećinsku većinu i moć da radi što i kako hoće. Dominantnu poziciju Gruevski je iskoristio još u toku prvih 100 dana vladavine, donoseći „svjetlosnom brzinom“ preko 150 zakona u Parlamentu sa podrškom DUI, koji su se tokom glasanja ponašali kao da učestvuju u popularnom kvizu “tko želi biti milijunaš” – rubrika „brzi prsti“.
U toku ovih brzopoteznih glasanja prošlo je i nekoliko kontraverznih zakona, kao zakon o upotrebi albanskog jezika, zakon o energetici, zakon o lobiranju, poslovnik o radu parlamenta, koji je donesen bez učešća opozicije u parlamentu. Stranke opozicije su bojkotirale rad Parlamenta svaka zbog svojih razloga. DPA zbog nepriznavanja izbornog rezultata, a SDSM i koalicioni partneri zbog hapšenja popularnog gradonačelnika grada Strumica, sada aktualnog v.d. predsjednika SDSM Zorana Zaeva. U međuvremenu, SDSM vratila se u parlament, poslije abolicije Zaeva od strane predsjednika države Branka Crvenkovskog. DPA je bojkotirala rad parlamenta sve do priznanja Republike Kosovo 09.oktobra/listopada 2008.godine.
Ponovo su aktualizirana četiri haaška slučaja, koja su vraćena na rješavanje makedonskom pravosuđu. Tako je DUI ponovo u centru događanja, čija su dva poslanika otvaranjem ovih slučajeva „nastradali“. Zbog mira i sudjelovanja u koaliciji ukinut im je poslanički imunitet, tako da će se redovno pojavljivati na sudskim ročištima u vezi haaškog slučaja „Maltretiranje Mavrovskih radnika”, koji je ustupljen makedonskom pravosuđu. Drugi snažniji udar na DUI odnosi se na poslanika DUI Hisena Xhemailija (ujedno je i lider Mladog foruma DUI), koji mora da se javi u skopski zatvor na izdržavanje 30-dnevne zatvorske kazne. Međutim, problem je u tome, da Xhemaili nije dostupan pravosudnim organima. Policija ga traži ali ga još uvijek nije pronašla. Ali Ahmeti i DUI i dalje šute. Ahmeti odgovara, da ima pametnijeg posla nego da se bavi time gdje se skriva njihov poslanik. Predsjednik opozicione DPA Menduh Thaçi je u pravu kada kaže, da Ahmeti nema samo politički problem, već i moralni, jer ne može da sankcionira i izruči svoje ljude kao što je urađeno u slučaju “Maltretiranje Mavrovskih radnika”, a istovremeno zaboravljajući da postoji otvoren sudski slučaj “Rukovodstvo ONA”, gdje se Ahmeti nalazi prvi na listi. Da li će se Ahmeti predati pravosudnim organima, kad se otvori njegov predmet, kao što je ubijedio svoje suradnike, ostaje da se vidi.
A Demokratska unija za integraciju? DUI se ponašala i još uvijek se ponaša kao „uspavana ljepotica“. Jedina reakcija na ovakvo ponašanje vlade i parlamentarne većine t.j. VMRO-DPMNE bila je kolumna potpredsjednice DUI Teute Arifi, koja je na ilustrativan način opisala ponašanje Gruevskog nazivajući ga “Demokraturom”. Arifi u svojoj kolumni u skopskom dnevnom listu “Dnevnik” poručuje Gruevskom “da je ovakvo ponašanje, potrošilo DPA, možda potroši i DUI, ali sasvim je sigurno, da će da potroši i Republiku Makedoniju”. Poslije iznošenja tog stava DUI je ponovo zaspala, a Teute Arifi nema više u javnosti, da se tako snažno suprotstavi luzerskoj politici Gruevskove vlade. Gruevski u cijeloj priči, koja je povezana s koaliranjem sa DUI, podiže svoj rejting kod glasača-Makedonaca. Gruevski bi vjerojatno, da je znao, da će mu biti tako lako vladati sa DUI, sigurno još 2006.godine uzeo DUI u vladu. Gruevski je naučio lekciju, a da li će je naučiti i DUI još uvijek nije izvjesno. Analitičari smatraju, da je neučestvovanje DPA u aktualnoj vladi, sačuvalo stranku od potpunog marginaliziranja na političkoj sceni, kao što je u ovom slučaju izložena DUI. NEDOSTATAK POLITIČKE KULTURE
Početkom septembra/rujna na makedonskoj političkoj sceni rodila se nova politička partija Albanaca zvana “Demokracija e Re” (Nova Demokracija), na čijem je čelu bivši potpredsjednik DPA Imer Selmani. Njemu se priključilo još par bivših ministra iz DPA, koji su bili u prijašnjoj vladi. Prvi utisak je bio, da oni napuštaju partiju samo zato što su izgubili svoja ministarska mjesta poslije prelaska DPA u opoziciju. Prvih nekoliko dana izgledalo je, da se DPA raspada po svim šavovima, tri poslanika su je napustili, dva potpredsjednika i desetak općinskih ogranaka djelomično ili u cjelini. Poslije mjesec dana situacija je drugačija, to nije puno uzdrmalo DPA. Ono što je razočaravajuće u DPA je to, da se poslije odlaska ljudi oko Imera Selmanija, očekivalo, da DPA pokaže javnosti da ima nove, mlade i sposobne ljude, koji će partiji produžiti politički život. Umjesto toga DPA za potpredsjednika stranke, pored veterana stranke Iljaza Halimija, vraća Mevlana Tahirija, čovjeka, koji je u 17 godina političkog pluralizma prošetao kroz sve moguće albanske partije u Makedoniji, uključujući i DPA, koju je napustio posle parlamentarnih izbora 2006.godine i priključio se Bardhulu Mahmutiju i njegovoj BDSh (Demokratska Unija Albanaca), zbog istih razloga kao i Selmani i njegova ekipa. Na izborima 2008 BDSh nije osvojila ni jedan procent glasova. Tri mjeseca kasnije, Mevlan Tahiri dolazi na mjesto potpredsjednika DPA, koja je ovim potezom pokazala da nema (ili ih ne vidi) novih ljudi u stranci.
A „Nova Demokracija“ još se etablira, vrijeme će pokazati, dali je formirana da bude samo u vladi kao supstitut DPA ili će da ponudi realne političke i ekonomske ideje kao i dostignuća zapadne evropske političke kulture, koje partijama u Makedoniji (makedonski i albanskim) nedostaje.
PREDSJEDNIČKI IZBORI 2009
Poslije odluke aktualnog predsjednika Makedonije Branka Crvenkovskog, da se neće kandidirati za drugi mandat za predsjednika države, počele su špekulacije oko toga, ali ne tako intenzivne, ko bi mogao biti kandidat vladajuće stranke i opozicije za predsjednika države. Crvenkovski će, poslije isteka mandata, najvjerojatnije preuzeti lidersku poziciju u SDSM.U javnosti se spominju neki od mogućih kandidata za predsjednika. Zoran Stavrevski, potpredsjednik Vlade i vjenčani kum premijera Gruevskog, bivši gradonačelnik Skopja Risto Penov iz redova opozicije, i Srgjan Kerim, donedavni predsjedavajući generalnom skupštinom UN-a. Kerima bi vjerojatno htjeli i jedni i drugi, a možda i Albanci. Kod Albanaca zasada nema nikakvih najava ko bi bili mogući kandidati za izbor predsjednika države.
PREMIJER GRUEVSKI NIJE PRIZNAO NEZAVISNOST KOSOVA?
Makedonija je konačno priznala Kosovo, i to dan poslije usvajanja srpske rezolucije u UN-u. Priznanje Kosova od Makedonije bio je dugo očekivani potez ne samo za Kosovo i Albance u Makedoniji već i SAD i neke druge zemlje članice EU. I sve se to desilo veoma brzo.
Po prvi put su albanske političke stranke u makedonskom Parlamentu (DUI, DPA i Nova Demokracija) zajednički nastupile i predložile rezoluciju, koju je Parlament usvojio kasno uvečer, a pola sata kasnije uslijedila je odluka vlade o priznanju. Pored drugih obrazloženja zašto je Makedonija priznala nezavisnost Kosova, stajalo je i to, da je Vlada prihvatila preporuku Parlamenta preko donesene rezolucije, da prizna nezavisnost Kosova. Opozicija je optužila vladu, da se za odlukom o priznanju Kosova skriva iza Parlamenta, jer sukladno Makedonskom ustavu i zakonu, Vlada je ta koja priznaje i uspostavlja diplomatske odnose sa drugim zemljama.
Prema informacijama Međunarodnog instituta IFIMES makedonska Vlada je već isti dan dok je još trajala debata o rezoluciji u Parlamentu, rano popodne donijela odluku da prizna Kosovo, ali sačekala je da Parlament usvoji Rezoluciju i poslije je objavila odluku o priznanju Kosova. IFIMES raspolaže pouzdanom informacijom, da točku dnevnog reda na sjednici Vlade na kojoj se odlučivalo o priznanju nezavisnosti Kosova, nije vodio premijer Nikola Gruevski, već zamjenik premijera za evropske integracije Ivica Bocevski. Navodno premijer Gruevski nije htio, da vodi sjednicu, sa obrazloženjem da ima druge obaveze. Ova informacija pokazuje, da Makedonska vlada nije namjeravala, da uskoro prizna Republiku Kosovo, ali očigledno nije mogla izdržati vanjskopolitički pritisak, što je bilo za očekivati. Ovaj slučaj pokazuje, da Makedonija funkcionira samo pod pritiskom i nikako drukčije. Makedonija je sebe dovela u situaciju, da zbog međunarodnog političkog pritiska prizna nezavisnost Kosova, a ne zbog toga što je Kosovo politička realnost na Balkanu i da je priznavanje nezavisnosti Kosova u interesu Makedonije i regionalne stabilnosti. Tako je i DPA prekinula bojkot i vratila se u Parlament.
Analitičari smatraju, da je Gruevski ne učestvovanjem prilikom donošenja odluke o priznanju Kosova još jednom ponizio, prije svega, svog koalicionog partnera DUI i njenog lidera Ali Ahmetija što ilustrativno govori kakav položaj u aktualnoj koaliciji ima DUI.
TEŽAK PERIOD ZA MAKEDONIJU
Međunarodni institut IFIMES ocjenjuje, da Makedoniju u narednom periodu čeka prilično teško razdoblje na političkom, prije svega vanjskopolitičkom i ekonomskom planu. Najnoviji paket prijedloga ambasadora Matthewa Nimitza za rješavanje spora sa Grčkom ne ulijeva nadu da će se to brzo završiti, posebno poslije odbijanja prijedloga od premijera Gruevskog. Da li će Makedonija konačno zaploviti u mirnije i stabilnije vode, zavisi od političkog vodstva, koje je prema bitnim nacionalnim i državnim pitanjima toliko razjedinjeno, da to ide samo na štetu Republike Makedonije. Priznanje Kosova je prvi korak ka tom stabilnom putu. Slijedeći korak bi bio konačno zatvaranje neracionalnog spora sa Grčkom. Predsjednički i lokalni izbori, koji su predviđeni za narednu godine, dodatno će zagrijati makedonsku političku scenu.
http://www.ifimes.org/default.cfm?Jezik=Si&Kat=10&ID=405

ИЗБОРИ...Што да очекува обичниот човек?

2008-05-11T11:56:00.000+02:00

Дали е обичниот човек само обичен смртник, зависен од програмите на политичките елити..?
Дали е државата семоќна во решавањето на сите економски проблеми..?
Што впрочем треба да бараме од луѓето кои ја водат државата..?
Сосема природно, на секој човек му е најбитна личната судбина и судбината на неговите најблиски. Тој проблем е поголем и поважен од било која кампања, изборен слоган или политичка програма. Ваквото созревање, можеби малку задоцнето, но е сепак се почесто во размислувањата на нашите луѓе, и комплетно се поклопува со филозофската водилка на западните земји, според која “секој човек е најзаслужен за сопствениот социјален и материјален статус“.
Ако е тоа така, тогаш што да се очекува од луѓето кои го бараат нашиот глас? Што да се очекува од оние кои бараат мандат да владеат во наредните 4 години?
Пред се овозможување на поголеми слободи за поединецот. Ако е тој главен креатор на сопствената судбина, но пред се на сопствениот социјален статус, тогаш државата треба да му се тргне од тој пат, а не да го ограничува со регулативи и високи давачки. Погубниот податок дека над 60% од вкупниот приход во фирмите завршува во државната каса, е многу обесхрабрувачки. Во високо развиените земји таквите давачки се 30-35%, а Македонија доколку сериозно сака развој мора да одзема помалку од нив, а не двојно повеќе. Не може државниот буџет да служи како гаранција за нечии општествен статус.
Затоа обичниот човек, граѓанинот, потребно е да побара три вида на радикални реформи кои ќе се случат во што е можно пократок рок:
1. Длабоки реформи во правосудниот систем:
Кога на било кој човек денес ќе му спомнете суд, тоа го потсетува на нешто ИЗВОНРЕДНО комплицирано, долготрајно, но пред се скапо и далечно. Имајќи ги во предвид сите видови влијанија во нашиот правосуден систем, но пред се неговата неефикасност.
Правна држава, во вистинска смисла на зборот, значи буквално обратно...забрзување на самите процедури, и конечна победа на непотизмот, политиката и корупцијата во судството. Неопходно е воведување на т.н Валутен Борд, што подразбира дека луѓе од ММФ и Светска Банка би ја контролирале јавната потрошувачка, издвојувањето пари за сите тендери, јавни набавки и комплетна контрола врз трошењето на државните пари. Тоа е најдокажан инструмент во борбата против корупцијата.
2. Радикално намалување на државната потрошувачка:
Ако сегашните 60% државна потрошувачка, се намалат на 30-35% (како во развиените земји), тогаш државниот буџет нема да изнесува 2,2 милијарди евра, туку скоро двојно помалку. Тоа пак би значело приближно 1 милијарда евра повеќе за македонските компании и за граѓаните...ГОДИШНО! Тоа понатаму значи помалку давачки за било кој бизнис, поконкурентно производство на странските пазари, реално зголемена побарувачка на нашето производство и реално зголемена вработеност во услови кога производството расте.
Говориме за реални параметри, за пари кои реално постојат и секоја година се трошат. Не говориме за “возможни инвестиции“ кои можеби би дошле, а можеби и не(како проектот Тајван).
Говорам за нешто што го има.
3. Потполна и апсолутна либерализација на економијата и на капиталните текови:
Најнапред, потребна е комплетна либерализација на надворешната трговија. Тоа значи дека Македонија, без разлика на односите со било која земја, еднострано би ги укинала сите царини и бесцарински бариери. Тоа би овозможило далеку поевтини производи од увоз, но и уште поевтини репроматеријали и суровини за нашето производство и негова уште поголема конкурентност на странските пазари. Беспредметни се стравувањата од трговски дефицит, со радикално кратење на даноците, нашето производство би станало далеку побарано на странските пазари и неговиот раст брзо би го амортизирал евентуалниот трговски дефицит.
Понатаму, потребна е либерализација на капиталните текови, односно максимално слободно внесување на било која заработка од надвор, како и максимално слободно изнесување на било која заработка вон Македонија. На народната банка треба да и се одземе дискреционото право да дава лиценци на странски банки, и со тоа да се овозможи слободен влез на било која странска банка.
Непријатна вистина за сите нас е дека сме општество кое многу повеќе троши одколку што произведува. Затоа мораме да сфатиме дека економскиот прогрес не подразбира никаква “правилна прераспределба на доходот“ туку создавање и привлекување на што е можно повеќе нов капитал. Притоа, несмее да се осудува профитот како мотив без разлика на неговата висина. Само во услови на такви економски слободи можеме да се надеваме на нови инвеститори, кои континуирано ќе отвораат работни места, поскапувајќи ја цената на работната рака и зголемувајки го животниот стандард. Само на тој начин можеме да очекуваме зголемување на доходот по жител и реални шанси да обичниот човек конечно стане сопственик, било на зголемена заштеда, приватно пензиско осигурување, вложување во хартии од вредност на берза и слични други херматистички појави кои од обичниот човек создаваат инвеститор.
ДРЖАВАТА МОРА ДА СЕ ТРГНЕ ОД ВАКВИТЕ ПРОЦЕСИ!
Ваквото барање мора да биде најсилно и најгласно на било кои наредни парламентарни избори!
Економската перспектива на Македонија е ограничена од деструктивното верување дека државата е семоќен инструмент во решавањето на проблемите на обичниот човек. Таквата идеја е водена од квази-интелектуалци, кои се присутни во сите политички партии. Малобројните исклучоци кои во последно време се појавуваат мора да бидат подржани со сите сили. Во спротивно, социјалната идеја дополнително ќе не влече надолу, низ бесконечни шеми и комбинаторики, низ безбројни политичко-економски експерименти кои би се спроведувале со нашите пари.
ЧУДА НАВИСТИНА СЕ СЛУЧУВААТ, НО НИВ ГИ ПРАВАТ ПОЕДИНЦИТЕ СО СВОЈОТ МОТИВ ЗА ПРОФИТ, А НЕ ПОЛИТИКАТА СО СВОИТЕ “ПРОГРАМИ“.
На песимизмот мора да му се стави крај, и да се подржат сите оние кои ќе ни понудат економски слободи во вистинска смисла на зборот.

Republic of Macedonia - Accession partnership

2008-03-11T15:48:00.001+01:00

The Council adopted a regulation amending regulation 533/2004 on the establishment of
partnerships in the framework of the stabilisation and association process for the Western Balkans
(6686/08).
The regulation is amended following the decision of the European Council in December 2005 to
grant the status of candidate country to the Republic of Macedonia.
Consequently, the name of the partnership with Republic of Macedonia will be changed from "European partnership" to "accession partnership".

Towards visa-free travel

2008-03-06T15:01:00.000+01:00

The Commission is launching a dialogue with each of the Western Balkan countries on visa liberalisation. It will soon propose road-maps outlining conditions to be met before the visa obligation can be lifted.
Visa facilitation agreements
Citizens of the Western Balkan countries, except Croatia, still need visas to enter the EU.
As a first step towards visa liberalisation, the Commission has concluded visa facilitation agreements with the Western Balkan countries. These agreements entered into force on 1 January 2008, together with respective readmission agreements[2].
The visa facilitation agreements substantially improve the conditions for obtaining visas for travel to the EU: they maintain a reduced visa fee (€35 instead of €60, presently required for citizens of third countries) and exempt broad categories of persons (e.g. students and pensioners) from these fees. They set time-limits for issuing a visa (normally 10 days). In addition, they simplify and clarify the procedures for issuing visas to certain categories of persons (e.g. business people, students, journalists). Frequent travellers will be granted multi-entry visas with long periods of validity. Holders of diplomatic passports are exempt from the visa obligation.
Visa liberalisation dialogue
The Commission is launching dialogues with the Western Balkan countries in order to establish road-maps on the conditions to be met for lifting the visa requirement. The dialogue with Serbia started in January, with the Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro in February. With Albania the dialogue will start in March and Bosnia and Herzegovina will follow.
Four key issues will be covered in the roadmaps: document security, illegal migration, public order and security, as well as external relations. The road-maps will be drawn up by the Commission in consultation with the Council and the Western Balkan countries. They will be tailor made to allow each country to focus reform efforts and address the EU’s requirements. The Commission intends to finalise the road-maps as soon as possible.
The speed of movement towards visa liberalisation will depend on each country's progress in fulfilling the benchmarks. For the whole process, the countries' capacity to ensure correct and effective implementation of the visa facilitation and readmission agreements will also be taken into consideration. The Commission will provide financial and technical assistance to support implementation of the road-maps.
The Commission and the Council will closely monitor progress in the relevant reforms. Once the conditions have been fulfilled, the Commission will propose to the Council the lifting of the respective visa obligation, by amending Council Regulation 539/2001[3].
[1] Fact sheet for the Commission Communication: "Western Balkans: enhancing the European perspective" See IP 378
[2] A readmission agreement with Albania has been in force since May 2006.
[3] Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 of 15 March 2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (OJ L 81, 21.3.2001).

Излезот на Никола Груевски

2008-01-21T11:43:00.000+01:00

Младиот и динамичен премиер на Македонија, Никола Груевски, штотуку ја издаде својата магистерска теза во облик на книга со наслов „Излезот”. Во една поранешна книга напишана заедно со коавторот на освртот на ова издание, а под наслов „Македонија на крстопат” (1998), Груевски ги изложува истите теми и сугерира слични решенија. Она што изненадува е фактот што неговата претходна книга не се споменува никаде во новото издание, а впрочем интересно е и откритието дека Груевски ја имал истата визија за Македонија уште во 1998 г. И токму тука лежи изворот на моето несогласување со дел од неговиот труд: во изминативе десет години, светот се промени, а економските истражувања напреднаа. Македонија не е позната како бастион на економски студии. Повеќето македонски професори се образовале и ја стекнале својата пракса за време на социјалистичкиот режим на Тито и за нив транзицијата кон капитализам е прилично збунувачка. Многумина од нив не зборуваат ни англиски. Токму затоа, Груевски успеал да произведе еден сеопфатен, образовен и провокативен осврт на темите кои се разработуваат во неговиот труд. Книгата на Груевски е и повеќе од соодветна и може да се носи со голем број учебници, но само како вовед во темата за странски директни инвестиции и нивната улога во новите транзициски економии во развој.Но, по с$ изгледа дека двата столба кои треба да го претставуваат излезот за македонската економија се прилично нестабилни. Македонија не може да се споредува со Ирска, со Сингапур, па дури ниту со Романија ни со Полска. Овие земји имаат предности за кои Македонија може само да сонува: блискост до мегапазари, познавање странски јазици, многу повеќе домашно население... Нивното искуство е неприменливо во Македонија која е затворена со копно од сите страни, со слабо државно уредување и ксенофобично и недоволно образовано население.Уште поважна е тоа што улогата на странските директни инвестиции (СДИ) во промовирање на растот и одржливиот развој никогаш не била потврдена. Не постои дури ниту прецизна дефиниција за таквата појава. Во повеќето земји во развој, други приливи на капитал, како на пример назнаки од странство, а не СДИ и ОРП (официјална развојна помош) се поголеми и се сметаат за посигурни. Неколку студии покажуваат дека домашните инвестициски проекти имаат покорисни (трицкле-доњн) ефекти за локалните економии. Така, близу две третини од СДИ се лоцирани кај богатите земји, и тоа во облик на спојувања и припојувања (мерџери и аквизиции - М и А). С$ на с$, СДИ претставуваат едвај 2% од глобалниот бруто-домашен пприход (БДП).СДИ не би можеле автоматски да се претстават како нето-прилив на девизи. За почетокот, многу мултинационални и транснационални „инвеститори” позајмуваат пари локално со поволни камати и на тој начин ги финансираат своите проекти. Ова претставува нефер конкуренција со локалните компании и го исфрла домашниот приватен сектор од пазарите за кредитирање, дислоцирајќи ги ивестициите во процесот. Многу транснационални корпорации се нето-конзументи на заштеди кои ги празнат локалните резервоари, оставајќи ги другите претприемачи самите на себе. Во тој поглед, во процесот на распределба на финансиите и странските банки се понаклонети и повеќе се грижат за потребите на понеризичните сегменти на бизнис-сцената (читај: странските инвеститори).Згора на тоа, колку е попрофитабилен проектот, толку е помал и нето-приливот на странски финансии. Во некои земји во развој, профитот кој си го повратиле „мултинационалците”, ја надминува сумата на вкупните СДИ. Овој непријатен исход уште повеќе го влошуваат исплатите на каматите во случаите каде инвестициите се финансираат со долгови, или пак други давачки, како на пример одлив на хонорари, дивиденди и разни такси. Да не го споменуваме тука и „звукот на цицањето” кој го произведуваат некои квазилегални практики, како на пример трансферно одредување цени и слични „мутации” на креативното сметководство.Повеќето земји во развој повеќе немаат потреба од странски пари. „Земјите од третиот и четвртиот свет” контролираат три четвртини од глобалните девизни резерви. „Сиромашните” (Југот) сега им позајмуваат на богатите (Северот) и се наоѓаат во позавидна положба од нето-кредиторите. На Западот му пресушуваат резервите на заштеда од Југот и од Истокот, најмногу со цел да ја финансира незаситната потрошувачка на своите жители, како и разните домашни капитални балони.Сепак, како што би ви одговорил секој студент на прва година по економија, СДИ не се однесуваат само на девизите. Тие го поттикнуваат трансферот на менаџерски вештини, интелектуална сопственост и технологија, креираат работни места и го подобруваат квалитетот на призведените стоки и услуги. И пред с$, го промовираат извозниот сектор.. Сево ова е повеќе или помалку точно. Поддржувачите на СДИ си ги остваруваат своите цели, додека СДИ не ги поттикнуваат, туку само ги следат растот и стабилноста. Странските инвеститори ги привлекуваат приказни за успех и тие се насочуваат кон замји кои се веќе развиени, политички стабилни и со значителна набавна моќ. Странските инвеститори си заминуваат веднаш штом почувствуваат или видат и најмал знак на закана, немир или намалено богатство. Во тој поглед, подеднакво тешко можеме да се потпреме и на СДИ. Студиите покажале како мултинационалните компании побрзале да си ја повратат заработувачката и да ги вратат заемите штом има и најмал предзнак за неволја. Поради сево ова, можеме да речеме дека СДИ се делумно проциклични/периодични. Што станува тогаш со вработувањето? Дали СДИ се вистинскиот лек кој го бараме?Секако не. Странските проекти се капитално-интензивни и трудово-ефикасни. Странците инвестираат во машинерија и интелектуална сопственост, но не во плати. Вештите работници добиваат плати кои се прилично повисоки од домашниот просек, а сите други заслабнуваат. Повеќето мултинационални компании ангажираат изведувачи кои, за да си ја завршат работата, честопати носат работници од различни континенти. Домашното население ретко профитира, а дури и откако и кога тоа ќе најде вработување, тоа е привремено и лошо платено. М и А, кои, ако се сеќавате, сочинуваат 60-70 % од сите СДИ, се познати по суровото генерирање „загуба” на работни места.Во крајна линија, СДИ го поткрепуваат владиниот буџет, но во земјите во развој каде без исклучок владее „клептократија”, повеќето од парите исчезнуваат во длабоките џебови, во мрсните дланки или на сметките на швајцарските банки. Таквиот „придонес” на и онака осиромашената економија, најчесто доведува до надувување на капиталните балони (најчесто во облик на недвижен имот) и до продолжување на неодржливиот и опасен подем, по кој ќе следуваат болни падови

The Republic of Macedonia must accelerate the pace of reform

2007-12-21T14:55:00.000+01:00

Internal political tensions in 2007 have diverted the Republic of Macedonia's political institutions away from the priorities of European integration and delayed reform, according to EU foreign affairs ministers at their December 10 General Affairs and External Relations Council. The Council encouraged all political parties to deepen political dialogue and cooperation, especially on interethnic relations, so as to be able to move ahead in the EU accession process.
Reforms should be speeded up in judicial and public administration and in the fight against corruption, and police reform should be implemented faster. Unemployment and the general business environment also needed attention, said EU ministers. The Council also issued an appeal to the Government to "make renewed efforts, with a constructive approach, to find a negotiated and mutually acceptable solution on the name issue with Greece, under the auspices of the UN, thereby contributing to regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations."
The EU-the Republic of Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee, meeting in Brussels on 26-27 November called for accession negotiations to start as soon as possible, and encouraged the government, the opposition and all the stakeholders in the Republic of Macedonia to do their utmost to carry out the necessary reforms to fulfil the necessary criteria. Among its other conclusions, it noted "the difficulties faced by citizens of the Macedonia due to the non-recognition by Greece of its passports, and the situation linked with the name issue; calls on both parties to honour commitments as outlined in the Joint Declaration annexed to the text of the EC-the Macedonia Visa Facilitation Agreement to re-assess the issue, as a matter of priority".
The EU is to abolish as from 1 January 2008 a double-checking system on imports of steel products from the Republic of Macedonia.

Тhe Report of the European Commission оn the progress of Macedonia Published

2007-11-07T11:27:00.000+01:00

Today in Brussels, the European Commission published the Report on the Progress of the Republic of Macedonia achieved in 2007. In addition to the report two more documents have been published, as well - Accession Partnership (previously – European Partnership) and Enlargement Strategy 2007.
Through the Report, the European Commission monitors and assesses the progress made by the Republic of Macedonia in the previous year. In the Accession Partnership, the European Commission gives recommendations for the upcoming reforms. The Enlargement Strategy is a document which EU enlargement policy is explained.
On the following links you can find the declared documents:
European Commission Progress report on the Republic of Macedonia 2007
Council decision on the principles, priorities and conditions contained in the Accession Partnership with the Republic of Macedonia and repealing Decision 2006/57/EC
Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2007-2008

Eastern Europe risks never catching up with western states

2007-10-16T16:02:00.000+02:00

Central and Eastern Europe states are in danger of never catching up with Western Europe, as the long term economic growth potential in the region is undermined by a widening human capital gap with the west of the continent, a report has warned.

The report – called the European Human Capital Index – ranked eastern EU members and candidates on their ability to develop and sustain their human capital, and was released by the Brussels-based Lisbon Council think tank on Monday (15 October).
Since the collapse of communism, economic growth in the former communist states is far above growth seen elsewhere on the continent, narrowing the difference in economic wealth between the two halves of the continent.

But researchers now fear that a continuation of this performance is unlikely, unless certain problems are urgently addressed.

"The entire study shows a closing of the gap in the last 15 years, but now it could widen again," Peer Ederer, the lead author of the study warned during the report's presentation.

"An economy does no longer only have to be efficiency-driven. If you want to be able to compete with Western Europe and Asia, you have to become an innovation-driven economy," he said later on.

In particular, the report highlights the region's shrinking population, continuous brain-drain, chronically high unemployment and inadequate investment in education and skills - especially in workers aged 45 or more – as the main problems.

"Stop early retirement schemes, reduce unemployment, stimulate part-time employment. Keep them in the job, get them in the job, in every way possible," Dr Ederer said.

"The demographic outlook is [also] not good," he added. "In Eastern Europe, you can find the lowest birth rates, basically in each of these countries. (...) Combine the demographic data with the brain-drain that continues to happen, and you have a very bleak picture."

The report also criticises Eastern European policy makers for failing to invest in people older than 45 years – about one-thirds of the population, thereby creating a "lost generation".

Examining the school systems, the report praised central and eastern European countries, but warned that they are still far away from the best.

"Secondary schooling systems are more or less on par with Western Europe, but when compared to [South] Korea and Finland, most Western European countries should also perform better."

Still a chance
The EU members that are doing well – Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Lithuania – still have a small chance of achieving Western standards of living within the next two decades, according to the report.

Slovenia is roughly on a par with Greece, Italy and Portugal, which were measured in a similar report last year.

But the members that trail the index' ranking – Slovakia, Bulgaria and Poland – are likely to remain stuck in relative poverty for a very long time when compared to the EU average.

Turkey, a candidate member, is the only country with a young and growing population, something which could, according to the authors, play a key role in addressing Europe's human capital needs.

They mentioned that by 2050, an estimated 19% of the European active workforce would be Turkish, almost equal to the working population of all other Mediterranean countries taken together.

Croatia, another candidate member, trails the list, just behind Bulgaria and Poland.

Human capital is considered an important factor in determining whether the EU will become a knowledge-based economy, an economic goal it has set itself.

Small Business Ideas

2007-10-12T23:05:00.000+02:00

Small Business Ideas You Can Run From Home
If you have a desire to start a home-based business, you’re part of a growing trend. As a matter of fact, one commonly cited statistic is that a home-based business is started every 11 seconds. As of the year 2000, there were 28.3 million home based businesses in the United States, up 2.1 million over 1999. Home-based businesses tend to have a higher than average survival rate as well, and of course, nothing beats the convenience of working from home.
You’re convinced—so where do you start?
What is the best home-based business?
The answer, of course, is that it depends. What are your particular talents and strengths? Many home-based small business owners got their start by leveraging an existing hobby into a business.
This is probably the best approach, so you would do well at the start to take stock of your talents, abilities and resources, and ask if there some way you can profit from these. With a slew of “home-based business ideas”, you will find that most of them generally break down into three categories: craft, professional and service.

Do you like working with your hands?
If so, you might like craft type businesses where you can create products or services that people can use. Some examples would be chimney sweeps or upholstery services, both of which are easily operated from home.

Janitorial services can be run from home as well, and a few corporate clients can get you enough monthly business to net you a decent income. Another lucrative line of work would be a home inspection service. You would need to study to obtain credentials as a home inspector, but you could earn a lot of money, and the overhead is fairly minimal.
Professional businesses run the gamut from computer programmer, desktop publisher, graphic designer, video service, etc. In short, anything that demands the use of a computer to deliver an informational product or service to the end user.
This would certainly include income tax preparation, resume writing and public relations as well. If you’re more of the intellectual and creative type, and you have good computer skills, this might be up your alley. You might even want to pursue one popular business nowadays—set up your own online Ebay store. You could, for example, set up an export business in this manner.
By having a presence on Ebay, you’ll have truckloads of eager buyers who will be willing to bid on your goods. You won’t need to worry about how to attract “traffic” to your online shop—as you would if you had your own separate web site. With Ebay, the traffic is there, from all over the world! It’s just a matter of having the right goods to sell.
Do you like working with people, and helping them out any way that you can? You might want to consider service businesses. These would include popular staples in this variety like a food catering service, which you could easily begin and advertise by word of mouth. You might also consider childcare services if you enjoy taking care of children.
To do so, you should first contact state and local governments to find out the requirements in your area. Another good source to consult is the National Association for Family Childcare. If you fancy yourself good at sales, you might want to consider becoming a sales representative. Selling is not for everyone, but sales reps are one of the most popular home-based businesses in the United States.
You will be working to sell on behalf of a manufacturer or wholesaler. Begin by examining your current list of contacts. If you know professionals in a certain industry, you can find out what products or services they need and then help them obtain them. Again, selling is not for everyone, but if you’re serious, begin by reading some good books on sales.
For further information on becoming a sales representative, contact the Manufacturers Agents National Association.
Do what you love, and the money will follow. This adage is as true as ever when it comes to a home-based business. Technology has made starting your own home-based businesses more convenient and lucrative than ever. Honestly appraise your strengths and personal qualities, and you will be sure to find your perfect niche.
Small Business Ideas For Cash
Most budding entrepreneurs who want to start their own business find it hard if not impossible to get a government grant (United Kingdom) or (Small business loan (USA), however, if you live in Moscow chances are you'll be paid for your small business ideas.
Apparently Moscow's ageing small business entrepreneurs is a concern to City Hall and to address the problem they have approved a program to give 20,000 young entrepreneurs the opportunity to start their own businesses. This will be supported by sponsorship events.
Moscow's City Hall has set aside $4.7 million over three years to fund the small business ideas initiative.
If your have a business idea and you happen to live in Moscow consider yourself lucky to be in a position to be paid to start your own business – this opportunity is rare in the UK and USA.
See this small business idea article for more information.
UK Entrepreneurs With Flair Are USA Bound To Develop Their Business Ideas
tudents that exhibit entrepreneurial flair are to be sent to the USA to make the most of their business ideas at the expense of British taxpayers.
Under the plan that was announced by the Chancellor Gordon Brown, the government wants to add summer schools for budding entrepreneurs to the requirement that children should receive five days a year of education that promotes entrepreneurialism.
Enterprise teaching in schools, which is backed with £60m of funding from the department of Education, was introduced to encourage young people to act on their business ideas. However, head teachers are concerned because they cannot see how they can fit the subject of entrepreneurialism into an already busy curriculum. They are also concerned about the lack entrepreneurial skills among teachers to adequately teach the subject.
How Do You Teach Students To Be Entrepreneurs?
Teaching students to be entrepreneurs in a traditional school setting that is more concerned about teaching to pass exams and working for an organization instead of working for yourself poses many challenges.
Heads, Teachers and Industry, an organization that builds business links with education, said many schools lacked the skills and knowledge to put the plan into action. HTI is launching a scheme for business people to be seconded for five days to help with enterprise programmers in schools.
Anne Evans, chief executive of HTI, said: "young people can be put off by business as they see it as boring but at the same time they think IPods are exciting. We need to demonstrate to young people that business is not just about figures but also the products and services they use everyday. It's about motivation rather than teaching them about profit and loss."
It is crystal clear that neither the government nor teachers have the slightest notion about what it takes to be an entrepreneur. For a start, let's forget the term entrepreneurialism because it's meaning is not helpful to the nuts and bolts of starting a business and successfully steering that business through the ups and downs of real life challenges where you learn to survive on a daily basis.
Learning to be an entrepreneur by reading books written by academics who have never been in business, who have never sold anything "door-to-door, nose-to-nose and toes-to-toes" is completely useless; a complete waste of time and good taxpayer's money.
So How Can You Teach Students To Be Take Risks And Be Entrepreneurs?
Learning from books written by entrepreneurs who have been successful at starting and running their own business can help as well being mentored by these same entrepreneurs. Encouraging and assisting entrepreneurs with their ideas can also help as this puts the onus of success on the budding entrepreneur. This is where the seeds of business ideas can germinate and with some watering, can develop into viable businesses.
Networking with other entrepreneurs is a MUST if you want to leverage your time and resource. This is an area that entrepreneurs cannot learn is the classroom. Yet, this area alone can make a massive difference to anyone in business, particularly small businesses.
Finally, we get down to the heart of what drives entrepreneurs and individuals wanting to be in business for themselves rather that opting for the safer less stressful option of working for a company in a paid job. What motivates some people to take risk and start their own business is a question that has different answers, depending on the entrepreneur you pose the question to.
If the government and schools want to really encourage young people to be entrepreneurs then they should first seek out entrepreneurs of all colours and backgrounds and get then to set the curriculum and provide the framework. That's what I would do if I wanted to foster entrepreneurialism among young British students.
What do you think?

Stress Management As A Small Business Idea
Stress management or stress relief is a highly searched keyword and therefore presents opportunities for small business entrepreneurs who are looking for small business ideas.
Search any of the major search engines and you'll find many searches around the keyword "stress management", "stress relief" and hundreds of other keywords, all related to people who are searching for information and ultimately solutions that are stress related.
Also consider this article on "Fear of stress discourages would-be entrepreneurs" . Based on a survey carried out in London, the majority of young Londoners would rather work at a paid job than start a business because of their fear of stress.
Imagine, if stress is such a major concern, it also offers opportunities for small business entrepreneurs who are savvy enough to spot an opportunity. Instead of reinventing the wheel in coming up with products and services that have not been tried and tested, here we have a ready market with tons of potential customers who are already looking for information on stress management and stress relief, plus going by the survey carried out by YouGov of young Londoners, the market can be segmented into different niches.
All it takes is to carry out research into the causes of stress, how to relieve and prevent the causes stress and to develop products (home study courses, videos, CDs, stress relieving music and audio, etc) that solves the needs of an already hungry market.

I hope this brief article will act as a stimulus and that you can see the possibilities of starting a business with this one small business idea.
Small Business Ideas For The Future
Two small business ideas based on new trends that small business entrepreneurs can profit from.

Small Business Idea #1
I was interested to read a survey by the research company DBM who were asked to look at which professional jobs or small businesses ideas are likely to be in greatest demand in the next ten years.
The survey appeared in Fortune magazine in March 2005 and here are the conclusions:
1. The greatest increase in demand by far will be for people who know how to clean up 'spaceship earth'. This is because an increasingly healthy-conscious public is eager to find environmental engineers who can prevent problems rather than simply control those that already exist. Indeed, it is anticipated that over the demand for environmental engineers will grow by at least 50%.
2. The next key area of growth is anticipated to be network systems and data com analysts followed by personal financial advisors.
3. Number eight on the list was PR Specialists.
If you are trying to decide what small business to start, it might well be worth your while to have a look at this survey. If there's going to be a demand for environmental engineers, there is also going to be demand for the businesses that employ them.

Small Business Idea #2
Starting A Business Based On New Trends
Speaking of new trends, when you get a moment why not check out a company called NatureWorks based in Nebraska?
The company runs a factory that can produce 300 million pounds of a polymer called Gylatic acid, derived from bacteria that feed on corn kernels. What is so big about this? Poly-lactic acid is basically a biodegradable corn plastic that degrades, within weeks, into water and carbon dioxide in the humid, 140 degrees heat of a compressed landfill site.
With escalating oil prices, corn plastic is much cheaper alternative. Also, with growing concern about the damage being caused to the environment, biodegradable corn plastic is better for the environment.
Corn plastic is going to be a giant thing in the years ahead. Furthermore, it is clearly going to offer eco-entrepreneurs some extremely exciting opportunities.
Looking for a Good Business Idea?
For an almost-can't lose chance for success, combine two fundamental rules for making a small business work:
1. Discover something you can do better than anyone else.
2. Figure out how to sell your product or service cheaper than anyone else.
Start by asking yourself, "What product or service am I unhappy with?"
If something is bothering you, chances are others feel the same way. If the feeling is widespread enough - and you have a way to solve your own problem - you may have a multi-million-dollar business idea.
Then ask yourself, "How can I provide my better product or service for less than the competition?"
That's what the founder of Save-A-Lot supermarkets did. He noticed that stores like Wal-Mart and Kroger had no interest in going into blighted (see Word to the Wise, below) urban neighborhoods. So, by taking on a market that the bigger chains ignore, The Wall Street Journal says, Save-A-Lot has "quietly become one of the nation's most successful grocery chains."
Save-A-Lot is part of a boom in low-frills supermarkets known as "hard discounters" that are undercutting the Wal-Marts and Krogers by stocking mostly their own brands and focusing on high-inventory items. (A typical Wal-Mart, for example, might stock 30,000 items, while a Save-A-Lot might stock 3,000.) The stores are sold as franchises. (75% of them are run by licensees.) Already, Save-A-Lot has 1,229 stores in 39 states and is adding more than 65 stores this year alone.
Over the weekend, see if you can come up with an small business idea for your million-dollar business. Start by thinking about all the products and services you regularly use. Have you ever said something like, "If only that widget had a _____, it would be so much easier to use"? Or "If only that company would _____ instead of _____, it would make my life so much easier"? That could be your breakthrough idea. And if you can figure out how to provide your better product or service at a better price than the competition, you're ready to leap into the wonderful world of entrepreneurship.

Could Copywriting Be the Business Idea of Your Dreams?
Have you ever dreamed of owning a lucrative small business that lets you work anywhere you want - anytime you want - and gives you plenty of time off to travel, spend time with family and friends, or to pursue your hobbies?
If so, direct-response copywriting could very well be the business of your dreams.
Why does copywriting pay so well? It's simple supply and demand.
Thousands of direct-response marketers across America and around the world are desperate for strong advertising copy. But there are so few writers to meet that demand that the good ones can pretty much write their own tickets.
If you can read, write, use a computer, and dial a telephone, you can learn this lucrative skill and make a very healthy living at it.
I'm living proof that it's true.
In the 1970's, I was a 20-something high-school dropout. I had a wife, a two-year-old daughter, and a baby on the way. My 12-hour-a-day job paid minimum wage, and we were struggling to pay the bills and put groceries on the table.
One day, as I was scouring the local paper for better job opportunities, I spied a tiny "help wanted" ad that intrigued me. A small-business owner needed someone to write ads for him.
"What do I have to lose?" I asked myself. "I can write. How hard can this be?"
My prospective employer wasn't exactly blown away by my experience and credentials. In fact, I expected the guy to have me thrown out of his office. Instead, he gave me an opportunity to prove my skills by writing a short sales letter. I poured my heart and soul into it, and a week later I had a new job - as a copywriter.
That's when everything changed for me. In the months and years that followed, my income soared to $100,000, then to $250,000, to $500,000, to $1 million ... and ultimately to nearly $3 million in a single year.
I'm not telling you this to brag - only to show you that if a high-school dropout like me can do it, you can too.
Even if you believe you have no natural talent for writing, you can still do very well. Good copywriting sounds like natural conversation - so if you can talk, you already have all the innate knowledge needed to be a successful copywriter.
Here's how you can get started on a profitable copywriting career:
1. Purchase a good home-study program. Really study it. Complete all of the exercises and become fully immersed in the skill of copywriting. This is how you learn the basics of what is considered good direct-response copy - the simple techniques that move people to action.
2. Get a deeper understanding of the basics of direct-response marketing by reading books such as Bob Bly's The Complete Idiot's Guide to Direct Marketing. Learn the industry lingo and understand the nuts and bolts of the direct-marketing business. You must understand the inner workings of the business so you fully understand how your copy fits into the equation. And it doesn't hurt to speak the language.
3. Study the masters. Study sales copy written by pros like Gary Bencivenga, Dan Kennedy, Gary Halbert, John Carlton, and others. Sign up for and read their e-newsletters, visit and read the archives on their websites. Learn from the best.
And after you have done all of the above and are ready for your first assignments (and for the cash to start rolling in) ...
4. Pick a niche in which you have some interest and knowledge and start looking for clients. My niche has always been health and financial publications. Your niche might be business opportunities or real estate.
Whatever your interests, I'll bet there is a product or publication just waiting for your newfound copywriting skill to sell it.
Narrowing your focus on a niche market will insure that you meet your goals faster. It's a huge direct-marketing world out there; don't waste your time running around trying to be everything to everyone. Write what you know.
There's one more thing you must do to make your sales copy successful.
Good ad writers simply explain all the benefits a product will bring to the customer's life - and they make a great living by doing that.
But great ad writers know that the vast majority of purchases are made for emotional reasons. So they identify the strongest emotions the customer already has concerning the benefits the product offers - or the lack of them ... and then they speak directly to those emotions.
If you can do this one thing, you can be one of the great ones - and a life of high-paying assignments and amazing freedom will be yours!
By Clayton Makepeace
NB: Clayton Makepeace is a copywriter and direct-marketing consultant with over 33 years of experience and more than $1 billion in sales generated for his clients.
Small Business Ideas To Generate More Good Ideas
Small business Innovation and the generation of ideas is currently all the rave. But this is not confined to small US businesses. In the UK the government and big companies are also searching for ways to establish a corporate 'ideas culture'.
Small business innovation conjures up images of entrepreneurs taking existing products and tweaking them for a ready market of customers who are looking for just that solution not currently being met.
Contrast this image with corporate innovation that conjures up images of white-coated boffins in laboratories and driven young things in the creative media industries. But some large companies, together with the government, are keen to sell a different image. Innovation they argue is about piecemeal improvements to processes and work organization, a culture of democratic tweaks.
While small business ideas and innovation is entrepreneurial driven and tend not to reinvent the wheel but instead address gaps in established and proven customer demand, large corporate innovation depends on how creative is the workforce.
New research commissioned by Vodafone, the telecommunications company, paints a mix picture. There's good news and bad news. The good news is of 2,000 employees interviewed, 28% say they generate an idea every week. That translates to 27m productive ideas into circulation for companies; based on just three serviceable in any year. More than two-thirds of respondents believe their managers are likely to listen to new business ideas.
Another striking finding is that micro or small businesses (companies with up to five employees) workers are three times more likely to originate an idea every day than in companies with more than 250 staff. Sectors such as media and marketing are much better at generating ideas than others such as transport, manufacturing and utilities.
The bad news is that employers' attitude for creativity is low. More than half of employees say they are not encouraged to come up with new business ideas, while 49% believe they work for organizations that are just no good with new business ideas.
It does appear that the traditional techniques of managing innovation - notable suggestion schemes, brainstorming and away days are regarded with suspicion. Consequently employees keep business ideas locked up in their heads. Furthermore, 79% are offered no financial incentives to generate business ideas, and 60% are given no time.
So while the government and big companies struggle with encouraging innovation and ideas from within, smaller companies are thriving in these areas. The Internet has created a treasure chest of information and successful prototypes to model, copy and enhance. Small Business ideas can be tested on the cheap. If one does not work, move on the the next one at speed. No committee or board decision is required.
There are successful small companies that have built products on the 'coat tail of success' of large companies by researching markets and developing in demand solutions. Why reinvent the wheel and spend vast sums in creating a market when a large company with fat budgets has done all the hard work for you?
So the advice to large companies when it comes to generating business ideas include:
1. It is vital to offer incentives for generating ideas
2. It is important to have a way of capturing and implementing good business ideas
3. It is necessary to realize that creativity cannot b e planned
May 19, 2005

UK Small Business Ideas are all Around You
UK small business ideas form as a result of many different life experiences. Some individuals were born with the entrepreneurial spirit and their drive towards self-employment began at a very young age. Some people come up with UK small business ideas because they’re tired of working for others. Sometimes, owning their own businesses makes sense for those who have specialized talents. And there is a growing group who make this type of move after being laid off from their jobs or as a result of not being able to find suitable employment.
The explosion of the Internet is making it possible for UK small business ideas to take root right from home. With more and more global business being transacted on the Internet every day, more and more people are trying to get their own piece of this action.
Perhaps even you are considering this type of move towards self independence. Striking out on your own is both exciting and stressful. It’s definitely not something for the faint of heart. You’ve got to be willing to invest double the amount of time and effort into your business to get it off the ground and to keep your UK small business ideas generating income. If you’re working on your own, especially in the beginning, you’ll have to play all roles: sales and marketing manager, negotiator, bookkeeper, administrative assistant and any other position required by your business.
Oftentimes, your ideas will actually result in a UK small business where you’ll need to hire others. That’s a major accomplishment but one that doesn’t necessarily mean your life will get easier. Employees expect to be paid on a regular basis. It’s up to you to ensure they do or they will move on. It may make sense for you to hire contractors whom you can pay by the hour or the project.
If you know you want to be your own boss, and you’re ready to explore UK small business ideas, there are several sources available to help with your search. The press lists business opportunities currently for sale in a particular area. To look at businesses for sale throughout the UK visit Daltons weekly . Here you’ll find pubs, guest houses, catering companies, shops and many other business opportunities.
If you feel you need a bit of assistance when starting out on your own, other viable UK small business ideas are franchises. Take a look around you – there are some 600 different businesses in the UK that actually are franchised. The costs of owning a franchise and the services you get from the franchise in return for those costs does vary between franchises, so you need to do your research. To begin your search for a franchise opportunity in the UK visit www.british-franchise.org.
Hopefully this information has got you thinking of ways you can turn your ideas into a successful UK small business venture. When you’re ready to turn your ideas into reality, you’ll find plenty of companies and branches of government ready to assist you in your pursuit!

Small Business Ideas You Can Start Today
Many visitors to Small Business Resource web site are looking for small business ideas. I know that because of the number of searches with the words "small business idea". Also the tracking software tells me key information. It’s no coincidence that we currently rank very highly in www.google.com for the keyword "small business ideas".
So, here are some business ideas you can start and run from home:

1.Backyard / Garden Ponds/ Water Gardens
These are increasing in demand. Homeowners love the sound of splashing and cascading water and having fishes in the garden. These ponds are very easy to build. There are kits that can help with easy construction. Pumps keep the water going and lights are available to keep them looking their best at night. Water gardens are very much in demand.

2.Market Your Arts And Crafts
If you have jewellery, art, photography, distress furniture, make baskets, etc, there are several books available that can help you learn how to market your art and crafts. Sell them at fairs, or sell them directly to stores or even to catalogue-owners.

3.Handyman
Are you handy around the house? Wouldn’t be nice to get paid for it? There are probably plenty of people in your neighbourhood or own town that would love to pay for your handyman services. You might think it’s simple to install a light socket, put up moulding, change a doorknob, patch a screen, repair a broken door hinge or put up some bookshelves, but most people do not. Promote your small business via word of mouth, fliers or a small advertisement in your local newspaper.

4.Special Events Video
Do you enjoy making videos of special gatherings for your family and friends? Why not get paid for it? Take your video camera and start a small business recording special events around town for your neighbours and business associates. Your jobs could range from a corporate retirement dinner, a school picnic, a wedding, a special town club event, a marathon, a local band’s gig, and you name-it. You might need to pick up a tripod or some special light to start this business, so save the receipts. These supplies are tax deductible.

5.Resume Service
If you have a good computer and a laser printer, consider your own resume service, there are lots of people who don’t know how to prepare a resume. You can prepare nice-looking resumes to land a new job. If you already have a computer, you can start straight away. Place ads and post fliers on your new service. Go to your local bookstore and check out the books and software on resume preparation. Contact businesses in your area that might be making people redundant. Ask if you can work with the personnel department to provide resumes to these individuals.

Next week I’ll briefly cover other small business ideas you can easily start from home like, teach your craft, newsletter, knife sharpening, birdhouse building and hometown guide.
So, here are some business ideas you can start and run from home:

Doing Business In Macedonia

2007-08-04T14:48:00.002+02:00

• Chapter 1: Doing Business In Macedonia
• Chapter 2: Seling Products and Services
• Chapter 3: Leading Sectors for Export and Investment
• Chapter 4: Trade Regulations and Standards
• Chapter 5: Investment Climate
• Chapter 6: Trade and Project Financing
• Chapter 7: Business Travel
• Chapter 8: Contacts, Market Research and Trade Events

Chapter 1: Doing Business In Macedonia

• Market Overview
• Market Challenges
• Market Opportunities
• Market Entry Strategy

Market Overview

Macedonia, a small, centrally located Balkan country, is undertaking substantial reforms in its economic, legal and political systems, which should improve its attractiveness to foreign investors.

• In December 2005 the European Union granted Macedonia candidate status. No date was set for the start of negotiations or entry into the EU. Macedonia made significant legal reforms to attain candidate status, and will have to implement substantial additional reforms to meet the requirements of EU membership.

• Implementation of the internationally mediated Framework Agreement (FWA), which ended the 2001 civil conflict between ethnic Albanians and the Government, was completed in 2005, and Macedonia’s political and security situation are stable.

• The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) signed agreements with the Government for three-year programs in 2005. The World Bank program includes numerous administrative reforms of the Government bureaucracy to improve the business climate.

• Macedonia has achieved macroeconomic stability. Inflation is low (1.5% estimated for 2005), the Government budget deficits are targeted to be only 0.6% of GDP, the currency is stable and pegged to the euro, and economic growth was 3.6% in 2005 and projected to be 4% in 2006.

• Macedonia received country credit ratings of “BB+” in foreign currency and “BBB-“ in local currency from Standard and Poor’s, and “BB” from Fitch Ratings.

• Macedonia is relatively open to international trade; with total 2004 trade (imports plus exports of goods and services) reaching $4.58 billion, or 90.2% of GDP. Macedonia's major trading partners are Russia, Germany, Greece, and Serbia and Montenegro.

Market Challenges

• The most significant market challenge is the country’s weak judicial system and high levels of corruption. While significant reforms of the legal system are underway, the courts are slow, inefficient, and subject to political pressures and corruption. This makes it difficult in some instances to enforce contracts.

Market Opportunities

• Food and Beverages -- The food and beverage industry is one of Macedonia's most promising sectors, based on previous performance and potential. Macedonia’s fertile soil and a climate that allows for more than one seasonal harvest contribute to the strength of the country’s food production. Future investment opportunities lie in marketing specialty and organic foods, as well as adding more value to those already being offered. In addition, the Government is concluding the privatization of the few remaining state-owned agricultural consortia, which will present further opportunities.

• Construction -- The construction industry is recognized for its skilled personnel and use of modern technology, especially in the area of civil engineering and hydro-construction. For this reason, Macedonia has been a major supplier of construction labor, with small- and large-scale projects in Central and Western Europe, the Middle East and Russia.

• Tourism -- The country’s geographic location, seasonal climate, and historic and religious sites provide favorable conditions for the development of the tourism industry. Macedonia has 90 hotels, 10 campgrounds, 2 tourist settlements and an additional 27,000 private beds. The total number of beds in all facilities exceeds 80,000. Currently, the most popular tourist destinations include Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa, Bistra Mountain and Pelister Mountain. More than 80 percent of tourist revenues are generated in these locations. The town of Ohrid, an area of great natural beauty, also enjoys protection by UNESCO as a historical/cultural heritage site.

Market Entry Strategy
The decision on how to enter the Macedonian market can have a significant impact on the results. Depending on product, services, and long-term strategy, companies may choose direct exports to an end-user, various distribution models, licensing, joint ventures, or direct investment.

Chapter 2: Selling Products and Services

• Using an Agent or Distributor
• Establishing an Office
• Franchising
• Direct Marketing
• Joint Ventures/Licensing
• Selling to the Government
• Distribution and Sales Channels
• Selling Factors/Techniques
• Electronic Commerce
• Trade Promotion and Advertising
• Pricing
• Sales Service/Customer Support
• Protecting Your Intellectual Property
• Local Professional Services
• Web Resources

Using an Agent or Distributor

Companies seeking to market and distribute their goods will find a considerable number of merchants, agents, middlemen, wholesalers and retailers available in Macedonia. In fact, all of the typical distribution channels are available, although they often lack the sophistication of distribution networks found in western markets. The most significant marketing area in Macedonia is its capital, Skopje (population over 600,000), where the primary business activity is based. Other major business centers include Bitola (population 75,000), Prilep (population 67,000) and Tetovo (population 51,000).

Macedonia's retail sector is dominated by small shops. Retail outlets vary from roadside shops and open air markets to city storefronts and shopping centers. A few department stores can be found in the larger cities. While many stores specialize in goods such as shoes, leather, or handbags, it is still common to find stores with an unusual mix of merchandise (bicycles sold next to paper products and small appliances, for example.) Retail is now dominated by private companies such as Tinex, Tediko, Alkaloid, Replek and others. Foreign retailers Gorenje, Candy, Ariston, Samsung, LG, Franck, and others are already present in the market. Fruits and vegetables are typically sold at open-air public markets.

The main shopping mall in Skopje stood half-empty only a decade ago. Now it is teeming with merchandise and shops. Many of the shops carry Western goods. Some western outlets have also opened in Skopje. The Greek supermarket chain Veropulos (“Vero”), which entered the market in 1998 with two stores in Skopje and one in Tetovo, has since added two more in Skopje and one in Bitola, and has plans for expansion into other parts of the country. The Turkish owned “RamStore” supermarket and up-scale shopping mall opened in 2005. “Germanos Telecom Skopje," a subsidiary of the Greek GERMANOS Group, has been operating in the country since February 2002. It is now a leading supplier of telecommunications goods and services, with over 30 stores.

Consumer-oriented trade shows are an important part of the retail scene. Frequent sector-specific shows such as food shows and consumer electronics shows attract regional and local participants and exhibitors.

Establishing an Office
As specified by the Company Law (Official Gazette No. 28/2004) the following forms of business can be established in Macedonia: general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, joint-stock company, and limited partnership by shares. We strongly suggest that anyone interested in opening a business in Macedonia review the Company Law (http://www.economy.gov.mk/WBStorage/Files/Macedonian%20Company%20Law_Fin_Ver_2004.pdf ) and work with a reputable local business consultant or attorney.

As of January 2006, the “one-stop-shop” system for registering business activities has started, operated by the Central Registry. This is allowing registration within 5 days, eliminating the previous long, bureaucratic registration process.

Franchising
While franchises of Western European companies are still uncommon in Macedonia, there are now several franchises operating in Skopje. McDonald’s opened three successful restaurants in Skopje between 1997 and 1999. Holiday Inn opened a popular hotel in downtown Skopje in 2000, and the Best Western Plaza opened in 2002. Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement to manage its first hotel in Macedonia. Some European companies such as Big Star, Diesel, Benetton and Mango have established outlets in the market.

The best prospects for franchising opportunities are in restaurants, hardware stores, specialty retail stores, printing and photocopying services, and equipment rental centers. Consumers in Macedonia are looking for retailers who can provide a consistent selection of quality products at reasonable prices. Entrepreneurs in Macedonia are also eager to obtain technology and management expertise.

Although franchising is a new concept for the business community in Macedonia, the legal system in Macedonia accommodates franchise agreements. In the beginning of 2003, the Macedonian Franchise Association (E-mail: skopje@talk21.com) was established to help domestic and foreign companies. Franchises have some advantages over domestic companies due to certain tax breaks and incentives.

Laws on labor relations are clearly spelled out, leases can be freely negotiated, and there are laws to protect trademarks, patents and copyrights. However, lack of capacity in the judicial system keeps these laws from being properly enforced. The primary challenge in establishing franchises is in obtaining favorable sites.

Direct Marketing

Direct marketing is not well developed in Macedonia. Direct marketing techniques need to be created and legislation for consumer protection strengthened. A style of mail-order catalogs unique to Macedonia has begun to enter the market. Currently, at least one business is using the television home shopping channel, “Teleshop,” to sell sports equipment, kitchen tools, household cleaning products and health and beauty supplies. Internet marketing is insignificant.

Telemarketing has not caught on in Macedonia. Rural mail deliveries are sometimes unreliable, and rural people generally prefer to deal with local vendors.

Joint Ventures/Licensing
Existing legislation permits joint ventures, mixed ownership investment, and both foreign and domestic investment. Because many large firms are undergoing privatization, joint ventures are becoming more common. Often, a local company teams with a foreign company that provides equipment and merchandise, while the local company provides buildings, warehouses, office space and personnel. An example of a U.S. firm that has made a significant investment in the local production of pharmaceuticals is ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in partnership with the local chemical producer OHIS.

Selling to the Government
Government procurement is regulated by the Law on Public Procurement (Official Gazette 19/2004 – http://www.finance.gov.mk/gb/laws/public_procurement.pdf), which establishes the terms and procedures for public procurement in Macedonia. However, in practice, government purchases often are not open and transparent. Some tenders are restricted to domestic companies and foreign companies are ineligible to participate (especially in the areas of defense). By law, both local and foreign potential providers are supposed to be treated equally. However, it is clear that the tendering process is not consistently transparent.
The central government, municipal institutions or agencies, or any entity receiving budgetary funds must use public procurement procedures. The intended contract can be for the purchase, supply, transportation, rent, lease, manufacturing, assembly or maintenance of personal property or real estate. It can also be for the provision of services, or for the study, design, construction, or improvement of property. A simple tender, a two-phase tender, a silent auction, or negotiations with three or more potential contractors (one in exceptional cases) must precede the contract to ensure competitiveness, equal opportunity and fairness.

Tenders financed by the World Bank and the EBRD must be conducted pursuant to the respective organization’s procurement guidelines. This means that the tendering process is conducted in an open and transparent manner, with the emphasis on meeting tender specifications and price competitiveness. Companies should review tender specifications closely to ensure that they are not written to limit competition ("lockout" specifications).

Distribution and Sales Channels Since Macedonia is a small market, there are no major distribution or warehousing operations. Efforts to establish free-trade zones to serve a larger Balkan market have not yet materialized.

Selling Factors/Techniques
Disposable income in Macedonia remains relatively low when compared with Western European countries. Most consumers purchase goods primarily based on price. The focus on price is reflected in the relatively poor quality of merchandise in traditional shops. Also evident in shops are many counterfeit brands, which indicates the importance of image. The importance placed on quality is growing, however, and more and more people are willing to pay a higher price for quality goods.

Many consumers prefer monthly installment payments for purchases. Financing and payment terms play a key role in successfully achieving sales. Local firms are also beginning to focus on quality and support services to attract customers. Domestically produced products sometimes offer exceptional quality.

Market size statistics are unreliable in predicting market responses. While low official disposable income statistics might initially discourage market entry, the size of the unofficial economy and inferences from observing actual sales activity paint a brighter picture. First-hand observation on the streets and in the shops is essential for gauging the amount of actual economic activity in Macedonia.

Strong local contacts are important for success in Macedonia. Companies pursuing the market should be prepared to spend time cultivating relationships and find a local representative to provide product support. Typically, one agent or distributor can cover the entire country effectively. When selecting an agent, companies are encouraged to consider the potential partner’s marketing reach, contact base, and ability to do business with the entire country and in surrounding countries.

Selling to state entities depends on cultivating relationships. Companies sometimes complain that they are pressured for some form of kickback, which would violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Internationally financed public procurements offer the best opportunity for transparent purchasing decisions. Tenders financed by the World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and similar institutions follow rigid rules of transparency.

Electronic Commerce
eCommerce transaction volume in Macedonia is extremely low, both for internet merchants, who sell products online, and consumers who shop online. According to best estimates, in 2004, only three Macedonian merchants accepted online credit card payments, and Macedonian consumers used credit cards for online transactions fewer than 400 times. ECommerce activity did not increase significantly in 2005.

There are several reasons for the small size of the market. On the merchant side, the main obstacle to eCommerce growth is the fact that no Macedonian bank offers merchant services for eCommerce. The root cause is the small size of the market. With relatively few merchants interested in eCommerce, none of the banks see a return sufficient to justify fixed infrastructure investments. Without domestic merchant accounts, online merchants must set up an offshore company or use an offshore payment gateway, which can charge as much as 10% of the transaction. Either option discourages merchants from entering the market.

On the consumer side, the biggest issues are low internet penetration and the low penetration of eCommerce-enabled credit cards. Also significant is the apparently high incidence of internet credit card fraud in Macedonia, which has caused many major eCommerce sites to limit access from Macedonia.

Internet penetration in Macedonia is low by international standards, with an internet-connected PC in only 16.5% of households. Most users subscribe to slower dial-up services. Broadband ADSL and wireless connections (now available country-wide) are still not widely used. Of those Macedonians using the internet, only 6.5% said they used the internet for shopping.

Credit card use is increasing, but is still considered low according to western standards. Major Macedonian banks had issued approximately 150,000 credit and debit cards by the end of 2005. However, the largest credit card issuer, Stopanska Banka, which accounts for about 100,000 of the total credit cards issued, does not authorize online transactions with their Visa cards because they have not implemented Visa International’s on-line authentication system. Stopanska Banka offers customers a vehicle for charging on-line purchases, but since this requires customers to transfer funds and obtain a charge number for each transaction, it is rarely used.

The percentage of internet fraud is high (though the low volume of total transactions means that the absolute number of fraudulent cases is also small). According to Verisign, an international leader in electronic security, during the third quarter of 2004, Macedonia ranked first among all countries surveyed in the perception of fraudulent transactions as a percentage of total transactions. Consequently, several major international eCommerce sites blocked or restricted transactions from Macedonia, retarding the development of eCommerce.

Trade Promotion and Advertising
Advertising is one of the fastest growing industries in Macedonia, despite the fact that (or because) the concept of advertising is relatively new here. Both consumers and companies are beginning to understand the effectiveness of advertising and the importance of marketing products. All forms of media are widely used: newspapers, magazines, television, radio, outdoor billboards and other signs. The following advertising media are preferred by companies in Macedonia (in descending order): printed media, both newspapers and magazines, radio, outdoor billboards/signs, trade shows, sales promotion literature, event sponsorship, and television. Commercial airtime is too expensive for many Macedonian companies and the cost is rising. As a result, the leading users of television advertising are mainly foreign-affiliated companies, especially those specializing in consumer products. It may be necessary for a supplier to assist its agent or distributor in Macedonia to cover the cost of television commercials.

Broadcast Media - There is growing competition between state-owned, “national” stations and numerous small, local independent stations. In Macedonia, over 100 radio and television stations are currently broadcasting. Satellite TV is also popular.

Print Media - Newspaper advertising continues to dominate local markets. The market is characterized by a large choice of newspapers and magazines. Magazines are generally considered costly given the low standard of living and therefore lack wide public readership. There are about ten national daily newspapers in Macedonia. The most popular publications are “Dnevnik”, “Fakti”, "Utrinski Vesnik", and “Koha Ditore”.

Dnevnik (Macedonian language)
(Marketing Services)
Tel: 389-2-316-6606 and 313-0204
Fax: 389-2-329-7554
Website: www.dnevnik.com.mk

Fakti (Albanian language)
(Marketing Services)
Tel: 389-2-324-5031 and/or 324-5028
Fax: 389-2-324-5029
E-mail: fakti@mol.com.mk
Website: www.fakti.com.mk

Utrinski Vesnik (Macedonian language)
(Marketing Services)
Tel: 389-2-323-6900
Fax: 389-2-323-6901
E-mail: marketing@utrinski.com.mk
Website: www.utrinskivesnik.com.mk

Koha Ditore (Albanian language)
(Marketing Services)
Tel: 389-2-322-4958
Fax: 389-2-329-0076
E-mail: marketing@kohaditore.com
Website: www.koha.net

Business Directories, or “yellow pages,” have been introduced to the market. Their popularity and usage is increasing and they are becoming more effective.

- www.yellowpages.com.mk
- www.zlatnakniga.com.mk

Outdoor Advertising - Quality outdoor advertising as an organized marketing effort is new to Macedonia and limited to larger cities and main roads/highways. Most outdoor advertising is limited to billboards, buses, large signs and some electronic displays.

Direct Mail - With improved postal service, direct mail advertising is slowly increasing.

Retail/Point-of-Sale Advertising - Point of purchase promotions are not common, but are growing in popularity. Retail stores often treat retail and/or point-of-purchase advertising as a secondary activity. Likewise, merchandise is stocked on shelves with little consideration of appearance. Unless there is assistance from a producer or distributor, retailers will rarely make an effort to enhance point-of-sale advertising. Coca-Cola, for example, has pursued a visible point-of-sale (shops, bars, restaurants, hotels, gas stations) marketing campaign that involves posters and coolers with company logos. The campaign has won Coca Cola significant market share here.

Trade Events/Fairs - Trade fairs are particularly good promotion channels for industrial products in Macedonia. Local and foreign firms rely on trade fairs to build business connections, gain market visibility, and learn about new technology. A list of upcoming fairs and events appears in the appendices. An updated list can be found at www.skopjefair.com.mk.

Sponsorships and Special Promotions – Special events offer an excellent avenue to launch new products. Because event promotion is new to the country, they offer an opportunity for a company’s products or services to stand out.

Advertising Agencies - Advertising and marketing agencies have developed over the past several years and offer a full range of services. Read under: Local Professional Services.

Pricing
Officially, per capita monthly income in Macedonia is 12,685 denars (according to official September 2005 data - approximately $250). Since consumers are extremely price sensitive and consistently seek bargains for their purchases, companies must pay close attention to price. Imported products are priced substantially higher than locally produced goods. As mentioned earlier, favorable financing may be a critical selling factor for big-ticket items.

Sales Service/Customer Support
Although service and customer support are relatively undeveloped as marketing tools, local distributors are attempting to provide quality service to their customers. In the past, customers often have cited price as the determining factor in the purchase of a particular product. Customer service and support have been secondary considerations. Firms selling capital equipment or technology should emphasize customer service and product quality.

Companies seeking to operate in Macedonia may want to consider providing training to their distributors/agents to communicate the firm's distinctive corporate policies, behavior and standards.

Protecting Your Intellectual Property

Macedonian law protects copyrights, patents, trademarks, stamps, mark of origin, and industrial designs. Protection is provided through the registration process with the Industrial Property Protection Office (phone +389-2-311-6379). In practice, IPR rules are poorly enforced. Consumer goods manufacturers, CD producers and video vendors report the most serious infringements.

Local Professional Services
Law Association:

Macedonian Business Lawyers Association
Bul. Krste Misirkov, BB
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-313-1084
Fax: 389-2-321-4088

Consulting:

ETTEA Consulting
Mrs. Elizabeta Kocovska – Iceva, BEc
Lermontova Str.3/4
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-4862
Fax: 389-2-311-8825
E-mail: ettea@unet.com.mk

Accounting:

Grant Thornton
Ms. Ruzhica Filipcheva, Managing Partner
Dame Gruev, 14/a
1000 Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-321-4700
Fax: 389-2-321-4710
E-mail: grant-thornton@grant-thornton.com.mk

Deloitte & Touche
Mrs. Lidija Nanush, Director
St. "27 Mart", 5/3
1000 Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-1300
Fax: 389-2-311-9544

Ernst & Young
Mrs. Verica Hadzivasileva – Markovska, Manager
Marshal Tito 19
1000 Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-1637
Fax: 389-2-311-3438
E-mail: eyskopje@mt.net.mk

KPMG
Mr. Georgi Chuchuk
28 Dame Gruev, 4 sprat
1000 Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-313-5220
Fax: 389-2-311-1811

PriceWaterHouse Coopers
M. Tito, 12
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-6638
Fax: 389-2-311-6525

Advertising:

Studio Marketing
J. Walter Thompson
Skopje, d.o.o.
Ul. 27 Mart, 14
1000, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-321-7101
Fax: 389-2-321-7102
E-mail: main@smjwt.com.mk

McCann Erickson Skopje
Ul. Ruzveltova, 33
1000, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-306-0093
Fax: 389-2-306-0373
E-mail: Irena_apelgren@mccann.com.mk

Saatchi & Saatchi
Ul. 11 Oktomvri, 3/6
1000, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-329-7688
Fax: 389-2-329-7689
E-mail: Zoran.Kardula@saatchi.com.mk

Web Resources
http://www.mbla.org.mk

http://www.gti.org

http://www.deloitte.com/macedonia

http://www.ey.com

http://www.kpmg.com.mk

http://www.pwc.com.mk

Chapter 4: Leading Sectors for Export and Investment

• ENERGY
• TRANSPORTATION
• COMPUTERS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT
• CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS
• HOTEL & RESTAURANT EQUIPMENT/TOURISM
• AGRICULTURE

ENERGY

Overview
The upcoming privatization of Macedonia’s state-owned electricity monopoly offers significant export and investment opportunities for Companies. Elektrostopanstvo na Makedonija (ESM - The Electric Power Company of Macedonia) (www.esmak.com.mk) is Macedonia's state-owned electricity monopoly and is responsible for generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power. ESM has three thermo-electric power plants that have a combined capacity of 1,010 MW and are powered by lignite coal and oil. The main thermal plant at Bitola supplies approximately 70 percent of Macedonia's electricity and is in good condition. ESM also runs 14 hydro-power stations - the four largest supply approximately 400 MW of electricity, and 10 smaller plants supply approximately 36 MW. In 2005, ESM generated 6,271 GWh, and 1,662 GWh were imported to fulfill the total demand of 7,933 GWh. ESM is a full member of the Union for the Coordination of Production and Transmission of Electricity European Interconnection (UCPTE), which ensures interconnect compatibility with European electric power systems. ESM has transmission lines on 400 kV connecting to Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, and Bulgaria, and will be constructing new lines to export and import electricity.

In an effort to upgrade the existing power generation capacities of ESM, as the winner of a World Bank funded tender, Westinghouse Process Control in July 2000 signed a contract to upgrade six hydropower plant facilities and supply a new dispatching system to monitor electricity production.

In June 2004, ESM put into operation the first unit of a 1,560 MW hydro power plant, Kozjak, the first new hydro plant in 30 years. The second unit came on line in September 2004. Kozjak is ESM's largest investment in recent years, and doubles as part of Macedonia's irrigation system development plan. Over 90 percent of the plant's equipment was imported from China. The construction of Kozjak started in 1995 with Chinese financing totaling USD 175 million.

Several infrastructure projects are in advanced phases of preparations, including the St. Petka hydropower plant on the Treska river, and the gas-fired cogeneration power plant for electricity and heating in Skopje.

In spring 2002, the government signed an agreement with an Austrian private investment and merchant bank, Meinl Bank AG from Vienna, to manage the restructuring and privatization of ESM, according to the terms and principals set up in the EU Electricity Directive and the Athens Memorandum for establishment of a regional electricity market among the Southeast European countries. This process simultaneously resulted in creation of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), founded by Parliament in June 2003. ERC is creating energy tariffs and pricing methodology, and is ultimately responsible for regulating the energy market.

With adoption of the Law on Transformation in March 2005, ESM was divided in to two new state-owned companies, one for distribution and one for generation. In December 2005, the Government announced the international public tender for privatization of the national electricity distribution company. This tender is to be finalized by March 2006.

Macedonia and Greece have already completed the construction of an oil pipeline connecting oil storage facilities at the port of Thessaloniki with Skopje’s OKTA refinery. The pipeline began full operation in September 2002. OKTA has begun construction of a pipeline to Kosovo and Serbia. Macedonia’s sole oil refinery, OKTA was originally created to meet the needs of all of southern Yugoslavia. Therefore, OKTA has the capacity to meet not only the country’s needs of 1.25 million tons of refined products, but to export refined products to neighboring areas as well.

In addition to the Skopje-Thessaloniki pipeline, which follows European Transport Corridor 10, the U.S. consortium AMBO (Albanian-Macedonian-Bulgarian-Oil) has proposed a pipeline that would follow the east-west Corridor 8 route, linking the port of Burgas, on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, with the port of Vlore, on the Adriatic coast of Albania. The pipeline would transport oil from the Caspian region to markets in Western Europe and the United States. If this project is implemented, there could be substantial export and subcontracting opportunities for U.S. companies.

A natural gas transportation pipeline has been constructed to carry Russian gas from the Bulgarian border to Skopje. Besides the construction of an industrial gas supplying ring around Skopje that is now under way, several pilot projects are promoted for gasification of urban settlements.

Opportunities

Besides the privatization of the electricity distribution company, to be finalized in March 2006, the Government plans to liberalize 30 percent of the electricity market during 2006 and the rest in subsequent years. The privatization will offer investment opportunities to companies interested in accessing a regional electricity market in Southeast Europe. As the price of electricity increases, there will be opportunities to use electricity more efficiently, such as by insulating homes and installing more efficient heaters and electromechanical devices. Also, liberal legislation provides opportunities for small projects and Individual Power Plant (IPP) construction and operation.

TRANSPORTATION

Overview

Macedonia is situated in the center of the Balkan Peninsula at the intersection of several key road and railway links. Macedonia has 8,200 kilometers of roadways (60 percent are paved and well maintained) and 700 kilometers of railways. Two Pan-European Transportation Corridors, Corridor 8 (east-west) and Corridor 10 (north-south) pass through Macedonia. Corridor 8 consists of the E-65 highway from Durres, Albania to Varna, Bulgaria via Skopje and Sofia, Bulgaria. Corridor 10 consists of the E-75 south-north road from Athens, Greece via Skopje, Macedonia, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, and Zagreb, Croatia to Munich, Germany.

Improvements in the past few years have been focused primarily on the elimination of “bottle necks” and the completion of the infrastructure in Corridor 8. U.S. TDA has facilitated $30 million of feasibility studies and exports, through its South Balkan Development Initiative (SBDI), which was completed in 2002. Greece recently invested in developing Corridor 10 in both Macedonia and Greece, with the aim of encouraging last summer’s Olympic - 2004 visitors to drive to Athens from northern Europe.

Opportunities

Companies can participate in infrastructure development in the areas of construction equipment and materials, tollbooth equipment, electronic data processing equipment, traffic monitoring, project management services and telecommunications equipment.

Several foreign airline companies (Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Malev, Cirrus Airlines, JAT, Adria Airways, Croatia Airlines, Turkish Airlines) fly into Macedonia’s main airport near Skopje. Foreign carriers fly to Skopje from Vienna, Zurich, Budapest, Frankfurt, Belgrade, Ljubljana, Zagreb, and Istanbul. Companies have bid for contracts in the field of air transportation services, airport equipment and construction, and air navigation and control systems.

COMPUTERS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT

Overview

The computer and information technology (IT) sector in Macedonia is a promising area for IT companies. The IT sector includes assembly, sales and maintenance of personal computers and main frames, as well as networking, systems integration, software development, Internet Service Providers, web design, multimedia, consulting, and training. In June 2002, Parliament passed the “e-Declaration,” a statement of commitment by the government to fast-track electronic commerce. For 2004, the total market was assessed at approximately $80 million, a 70 percent increase since 2000. IT revenues for 2005 are estimated to grow to $ 100 million.

Most of the world’s largest IT companies, such as Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, Compaq, Hewlett Packard, Dell, Sun Microsystems, Apple, and Lotus, are present in Macedonia via branch offices, distributors, dealers, resellers, solution providers, and business partners.

In early 2004, the Macedonian Government signed an agreement with Microsoft to legalize Microsoft products used by the government. In addition, Microsoft has offered amnesty to large business users and has signed about 400 legalization agreements. Microsoft is now working with educational institutions and small businesses to legalize their software.

Opportunities

Several software development companies are creating applications for Western markets. These include banking, air traffic control, and website development.

With the liberalization of the telecom industry in February 2005 (the new Law on Electronic Communications; http://www.aec.mk), many opportunities exist to sell products and services.

CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS

Overview

The construction industry is recognized for its skilled personnel and use of modern technology, especially in the area of civil engineering and hydro-construction. For this reason, Macedonia has been a major supplier of construction services, with local firms working on small and large-scale projects in Central Europe, the Middle East and Russia. Macedonian firms have good access to Russian markets and also have won contracts for EU projects in Germany and Italy.

According to data compiled from building materials manufacturers, building construction continues to grow rapidly. Macedonia also exports building materials, primarily to Kosovo and Albania. The construction industry has a turnover of 400 million US dollars annually, 20 – 25 % of which is spent on imported products, equipment and fixtures. In 2001, the Macedonian Development Bank began providing export insurance covering commercial risks for Macedonian exporters of building materials.

The construction industry has accounted for between five and eight percent of annual GDP over the last decade. Construction companies in Macedonia are versatile and skilled, designing and building roads, civil and military airports, bridges, high-rise buildings, industrial facilities, dams, tunnels, irrigation systems, water-supply systems, waste-treatment systems and purification facilities. Macedonian construction companies also provide expert studies, investment programs, and engineering and expert technical supervision of domestic projects.

Opportunities

There are both export and investment opportunities available for Companies in the construction and building materials sector. Buildings in Macedonia are energy inefficient and heavy, and take a relatively long time to build. Wood and steel frame buildings are almost unknown, though builders in Macedonia are starting to examine platform-frame wood construction and prefabricated housing. Building products that may have good market prospects include wood and vinyl window frames, doors, flooring and kitchen cabinets, suspended ceilings, insulation, adhesives, cements, roofing shingles, heating and ventilation equipment, air conditioning, refrigeration and cooling systems. The domestic market in Macedonia consists primarily of cement and cement products, and gypsum products.

HOTEL & RESTAURANT EQUIPMENT/TOURISM

Overview

The tourism sector offers export and investment opportunities and has significant potential for future development. The country’s geographic location, mild climate, and historic and religious sites provide favorable conditions for the development of the tourism industry. Macedonia has 90 hotels, 10 campgrounds, 2 tourist settlements and, in total, over 80,000 tourist beds. Macedonia has many tourist attractions, including three natural lakes (Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and Lake Dojran), and high mountains suitable for camping, hiking, and winter sports. The most popular tourist destination is Lake Ohrid. Almost 80 percent of Macedonia's tourist revenues are generated at Ohrid. The town of Ohrid, in an area of great natural beauty, also enjoys the protection of UNESCO as an historical/cultural heritage site. Numerous hotels need major repair and modernization, especially along the coast of Lake Ohrid, in Skopje, and at the winter ski resorts of Mavrovo, Mt. Shara, and Mt. Pelister. Tourists mainly come from the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Greece, Germany, Holland, and Italy.

Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts has signed an agreement to manage its first hotel in Macedonia. The Radisson SAS Palace Hotel will be located in the city center of Ohrid. The hotel will offer 140 guest rooms, including 12 penthouse suites. The conference center will offer a business center as well as six meeting rooms. Other facilities include indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a health & fitness center, a spa with treatment rooms, and several shops.

The new Kozjak dam (see - Energy) has created the largest artificial lake in Macedonia. While access to the area is still very limited, new roads are being built that could open tourism opportunities in one of the most beautiful valleys in Macedonia.

Opportunities

Since there has been very little investment in tourism, legacy hotels need repair and upgrading. There has been an increase in construction of smaller hotels, more suitable to the Macedonian market, in areas around Lake Ohrid. There are no golf courses in Macedonia, nor do the three largest lakes, Ohrid, Doijran and Prespa, have any significant watersport centers. The Treska reservoir behind the new Kozjak dam mentioned above offers many opportunities for the development of tourism and real estate.

Agricultural Sectors
Agricultural Machinery and Equipment
The food and beverage industry is one of Macedonia's most promising sectors, based on previous performance and potential. Most of the food-processing facilities are in private hands. The industry nearly doubled in size between 1989 and 1995, relative to the rest of the economy. Agribusiness in Macedonia, including agriculture and food processing, accounts for 13 per cent of GDP and employs 30 per cent of the workforce. Food and beverage processing are significant industries, and companies in Macedonia produce canned and bottled fruits and vegetables, and wine for export. There are about 30 food-processing companies in Macedonia; 10 have facilities for canning, 10 have fruit juice production and bottling equipment, and 14 have facilities for drying. Most food processing companies have storage and cooling facilities, and eleven have deep freezing equipment that is more than adequate to meet the domestic demand. Processed foods are dominated by two major sectors, semi-finished products (including frozen, dried, and concentrate) and finished products (canned and preserved). Processed frozen foods are mostly exported to Germany, Holland, and other European countries. Processed dried foods are mainly exported to France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Preserved fruits and vegetables are sold to neighboring countries, Australia, and Western European markets.

Opportunities

Macedonia needs agricultural machinery and equipment, meat and dairy equipment, and veterinary equipment and supplies to expand the quality and quantity of its production. The Fund for Agriculture in Macedonia is promoting the introduction of new agricultural technologies and products. Macedonia exports approximately 20% of its agricultural products. Domestic production of agricultural machinery is minimal, and the market relies on imports. There are substantial opportunities for companies in the agribusiness area for equipment that will add value to the food processing sector, such as bottling, packaging, and refining equipment.

Macedonia produces approximately 1 million hectoliters of beer every year, mostly for domestic consumption, and 1.3-1.4 million hectoliters of wine per year. The wine sector needs investment if it is to remain competitive and reach its full potential. Currently, Macedonia exports most of its wine in bulk to be bottled in other countries and then sold. Export opportunities exist for U.S. companies for equipment that will increase the volume of wine bottled in Macedonia, and technology and supplies that will stimulate grape production. The government considers agriculture a target area for future growth and development, including increased foreign direct investment (FDI).

Agricultural products

Frozen chicken: Large open markets sell U.S. chicken leg quarters and liver for retail consumption. Preferred packing is in frozen flats of up to 20 kilos. These products are popular with lower-income consumers. Buyers are usually wholesaler/importers, and price is paramount.
Soybean meal: Some layer and broiler operations have their own feed mills, but most soybean meal is purchased directly from Greek crushers by large farms and concentrate producers. Higher protein meal is in demand, but the market is price sensitive.

Red meat: Sausage and variety meat processors are increasing demand for frozen pork, and especially beef offal, for use in local manufacturing.
Raw cotton: There are several spinners and weavers in Macedonia that have used U.S. cotton in the past (medium to short staple). The main competitors are Greek and Turkish cotton.

Specialty flour: The larger bakeries and mills have purchased specialty flours (high quality, high gluten) for use in blending. Small quantity lots are generally preferred.

Import Tariffs
Macedonia became the 146th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in April 2003 and is liberalizing its customs regime in accordance with WTO guidelines. As a WTO member, Macedonia has committed itself to the three basic rules of trade conduct: transparency in laws, equal rights and privileges for foreign and domestic firms and citizens, and most-favored nation treatment.

The customs legislation of Macedonia, which entered into force on January 1, 2000, set the ground for Macedonia’s compliance with European Union standards. Since then the legislation has been amended in accordance with EU regulations and WTO standards and recommendations.

Customs duties generally apply to most products imported into Macedonia. Special tariffs apply to countries with which Macedonia has signed a Free Trade Agreement. In 2005, tariffs ranged from 0-30 percent, with an average rate on agricultural products of 18.02 percent and on industrial products of 7.66 percent. The only category to which a maximum rate of 60 percent is levied is cigarettes, while the rates on fruits and vegetables, cereals, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages have decreased from the maximum rate. The average rate of all products decreased to 10.05 percent in 2005, due to reduction of tariffs on over 4,000 raw materials. In accordance with WTO regulations, further reduction of tariffs is expected in 2006, and the average rate will drop to 9.49 percent. There is no duty on raw materials for the textile and apparel industry. Excise taxes apply to wine, beer, coffee, cigarettes, mineral oils, tobacco, and vehicles. Excise taxes are determined by the type and quantity of the product and are levied in addition to the customs tariff. From end-2004, new custom tariffs of 8 percent on European and US automobiles and 10 percent on Japanese automobiles have been applied. The new excise tax for automobiles is progressive, based on engine capacity. There are variable levies for agricultural and food products as well. Other products, like tobacco, wine, and various fruits are subject to import quotas. Import as well as export quotas are provided on a first-come-first-serve basis.

A Value Added Tax (VAT) of 18 percent is applied on all products and services. Only food, potable water and some printed materials such as newspapers, magazines and educational books are taxed at the preferential rate of 5 percent. For imports into Macedonia, the VAT is assessed on the CIF value of the goods plus the duty.

Trade Barriers
A number of products are subject to quality control by market inspection officials at customs offices. These officials are employed by the Ministry of Economy to ensure that imported goods are in compliance with domestic standards. The products subject to quality control include most agricultural products, cars, electrical appliances, or products in which poor quality may pose a health risk to consumers. When applicable, products also must pass sanitary, phytopathologic or veterinary control. (Additional information on sanitary requirements can be obtained from the Ministry of Health, and phytopathologic and veterinary requirements can be obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Resource Management.)

Import regulations are generally numerous and not always available in English. In order to learn about customs duties, taxes and quality requirements for a specific product, exporters can consult the Customs Administration web page: http://www.customs.gov.mk, or contact freight forwarders or business consultants in Macedonia.

Import Requirements and Documentation
An importer/exporter in Macedonia is responsible for providing the required import/export documentation, which consists of common trade, transport and customs documentation, as well as certificates of origin and certificates of quality control and licenses. Service providers are not subject to the customs regulations, but foreign trade transactions are subject to a documentation fee of one percent.

Temporary Entry
Products may be imported into Macedonia on a temporary basis. The rules on temporary imports are contained in the Regulation for Application of the new Law on Customs starting application on January 1, 2006 (Official Gazette No.39/2005).

Products allowed temporary import status include raw materials processed in Macedonia and re-exported, infrastructure equipment produced by foreign contractors, and office equipment for foreign firms.

Macedonia is a party to the Customs Convention on Carnet (ATA) for Temporary Import of Goods. Presentation of an ATA carnet, or TIR carnet, facilitates the process. An entry carnet may be obtained from a local chamber of commerce in the United States. Carnets are usually valid for 1 year and list the products to be imported on a duty-free basis. The carnet must be presented upon entry into Macedonia. Customs will stamp the carnet, thereby validating it. Upon departure, the carnet must again be presented for validation, confirming that the product is being transported out of Macedonia. Failure to re-export the goods results in application of the duties.

Labeling and Marking Requirements
Labels must contain the following information: quality, ingredients, quantity, manner of storage, transport, use, maintenance, country of origin and a “best before” date. The above information must be in Macedonian.

Prohibited and Restricted Imports
Chemicals, weapons, ammunition, pesticides, and some other categories of products may require import licenses from the responsible ministry. See the Customs Administration website for details.

Customs Contact Information
Macedonian Customs Administration
Lazar Licenoski 13, 1000 Skopje
Republic of Macedonia
Phone: +389 2 322 4342
Fax: +389 2 323 7832
www.customs.gov.mk

Standards
• Overview
• Standards Organizations
• Conformity Assessment
• Product Certification
• Accreditation
• Publication of Technical Regulations
• Labeling and Marking

Overview

Standards are regulated and developed by the following institutions:

1. Regulatory functions:

- Ministry of Economy acting as a coordinator;
- Other Ministries for specific topic areas.

2. Controlling functions:

- Customs Administration;
- Market controlling inspections.

3. Preventive functions:

- Standardization Institute of the Republic of Macedonia;
- Bureau of Metrology;
- Accreditation Institute of the Republic of Macedonia;
- Laboratories, certification and controlling offices.

Standards Organizations

The Law on the Protection and Improvement of the Environment and Nature (official Gazette No. 69/1996) regulates safety standards for import/export purposes.

Conformity Assessment

Macedonia's main testing and conformity assessment bodies are:

- Standardization Institute;
- Accreditation Institute;
- Bureau of Metrology.

Product Certification

Product certification requirements are specified in the laws listed in section Overview.

The Law on Accreditation and the Law on Specifying Technical Regulations are being amended. The Law on General Safety of Products should be adopted in mid-2006.

Accreditation

The Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia adopted the Law on Accreditation in July 2002, prepared on the basis of European Law. Based on that, the Government has established the Accreditation Institute (AI) as an independent legal entity. AI performs the accreditation of:

1. Laboratories for testing and calibration;
2. Organizations issuing product certifications;
3. Organizations issuing certificates for systems for quality;
4. Organizations issuing certificates for systems for protecting the environment;
5. Organizations issuing certificates for persons;
6. Organizations conducting supervisions.

AI participates at meetings with European and other international organizations for accreditation, and also acts as an advisory body to the Government on issues of accreditation.

The Accreditation Institute can be contacted at the following address:

Accreditation Institute of the Republic of Macedonia
Vasil Glavinov, bb, Blok X, Mezanin
Tel/Fax: 389-2-329-6685
1000, Skopje, Macedonia

Publication of Technical Regulations

Each of the standardization and accreditation organizations issues bulletins on its procedures. Also, sector-regulating laws are published in the Official Gazette as adopted or amended.

Labeling and Marking

Labels must contain the following information: quality, ingredients, quantity, manner of storage, transport, use, maintenance, country of origin and a “best before” date. The above information must be in Macedonian.

Trade Agreements
Macedonia is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Currently, Macedonia has Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with Croatia; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Serbia and Montenegro; Slovenia; Turkey; Bulgaria; Romania; Albania; and Ukraine. To encourage trade, customs duties are set at minimal rates of one to two percent. In February 2001, Macedonia signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union, and in December 2005 the European Union granted candidate status to the country. A critical component of the SAA is a preferential trade agreement that allows products from Macedonia to enter the European Union duty free. The agreement also provides for a gradual (10 to 12 years) reduction of duty rates for European Union products entering Macedonia.
Web Resources
Ministry of Economy - http://www.economy.gov.mk

Ministry of Finance - http://www.finance.gov.mk

Ministry of Internal Affairs - http://www.mvr.gov.mk

Macedonian Customs Authority - http://www.customs.gov.mk

Chapter 5: Investment Climate

• Openness to Foreign Investment
• Conversion and Transfer Policies
• Expropriation and Compensation
• Dispute Settlement
• Performance Requirements and Incentives
• Right to Private Ownership and Establishment
• Protection of Property Rights
• Transparency of Regulatory System
• Efficient Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment
• Political Violence
• Corruption
• Bilateral Investment Agreements
• OPIC and Other Investment Insurance Programs
• Labor
• Foreign-Trade Zones/Free Ports
• Foreign Direct Investment Statistics
• Web Resources

Openness to Foreign Investment
As a small, relatively open economy, Macedonia continues to take steps to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). The country has enacted legislation that not only ensures an equal footing for foreign investors vis-à-vis their domestic counterparts, but also provides numerous incentives to attract such investment. Even before gaining full membership to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in April 2003, Macedonia consistently provided national treatment to foreign investors. The country also concluded a number of bilateral investment protection treaties and other multilateral conventions that impose stricter protection standards for foreign investors.

The Constitution of Macedonia, as the supreme law of the land, guarantees the equal position of all entities in the market, and provides free transfer and repatriation of investment capital and profits for foreign investors. Macedonia's privatization process is almost complete. Under Macedonian law, foreign and domestic investors have equal opportunities to participate in the privatization of the remaining state-owned capital. There is no one law regulating foreign investments. Rather, the legal framework is comprised of several laws, including: the Trade Companies Law; Securities Law; Profit Tax Law; Customs Law; the VAT Law; Foreign Trade Law, the Law on Acquiring Shareholding Companies, the Foreign Exchange Operations Law; the Law on Foreign Loan Relations; the Law on Privatization of State-owned Capital; the Law on Investment Funds; and the Banking Law.

The legal system in Macedonia is undergoing substantial reform, however it is still often slow, inefficient, lacking in adequate resources, and sometimes subject to political pressures and corruption. Enforcement of the laws, and the upholding of contracts, is therefore inconsistent and not always impartial.

- The Trade Companies Law

This is the primary law regulating business activity in Macedonia. It defines the types of companies allowed to operate in Macedonia, as well as procedures and regulations for their establishment and operation. As all foreign investors are granted national treatment, they are entitled to establish and operate all types of private or joint-stock companies. Foreign investors are not required to obtain special permission from state-authorized institutions other than what is customarily required by law.

- Law on Privatization of State-owned Capital

According to this law, foreign investors are guaranteed equal rights with domestic investors when bidding on tenders for company share packages owned by the government. There are no impediments to foreign investors to participate in the privatization process of domestic companies.

- Foreign Loan Relations Law

This law regulates the credit relations of domestic entities with those abroad. Specifically, it regulates the terms by which foreign investors can convert their claims into deposits, shares or equity investment with the debtor company or bank. The Foreign Loan Relations Law also enables rescheduled debt to be converted into foreign investment in certain sectors or in secondary capital markets.

- Law on Investment Funds

This law governs the conditions for incorporation of investment funds and investment fund management companies, the manner and supervisory control of their operations and the process of selection of a depository bank. The law does not discriminate against foreign investors in establishing open-ended or closed investment funds.

- Law on Foreign Exchange Operations

This law establishes the terms for further liberalization of capital transactions. It regulates current and capital transactions between residents and non-residents, the transfer of funds across borders, as well as all foreign exchange operations. All current transactions of foreign entities are allowed. There are no restrictions for non-residents to invest in Macedonia. Foreign investors may repatriate both profits and funds acquired by selling shares after paying regular taxes and social contributions. In case of expropriation, foreign investors have the right to choose their preferred form of reimbursement. While they cannot own land, foreign investors may invest in or own fixed assets and real estate.

- Other Legal Considerations

Foreign investment may be in the form of money, equipment, or raw materials. To guarantee that the investment will not be nationalized, the investor can reserve the right to withdraw the deposit in the form effectuated with the investment. This regulation offers an additional incentive to foreign investors, since it is not offered to national investors.

The privatization process is governed by the Law on Transformation of Enterprises with Social Capital (Official Gazette 38/93) and the Law on Privatization of State-owned Capital (Official Gazette 37/96). To quickly finish the privatization of its remaining shares in companies, the government has offered large discounts on the nominal value of the shares and no longer imposes stringent employment and investment requirements.

Foreign investors are allowed to invest directly in all industry and business sectors except those limited by law. Investment in the production of weaponry and narcotics is prohibited without government approval. Investors in some sectors, such as banking, financial services, and insurance, must meet certain licensing requirements that apply equally to domestic and foreign investors.

Conversion and Transfer Policies
Macedonia’s national currency, the denar (MKD), while fully convertible within the domestic market, is not convertible on foreign exchange markets. Conversion of most foreign currencies is possible on the official foreign exchange market. In addition to banks and savings institutions, numerous authorized exchange offices also provide exchange services. The National Bank operates the foreign exchange market, but participates on an equal basis with other entities. Sufficient foreign currency reserves are spelled out in the banking law. There are no restrictions on the purchase of foreign currency by residents.

Parallel foreign exchange markets do not exist in Macedonia due to the long-term stability of the denar. The National Bank's strategy is to maintain a stable exchange rate by pegging the denar to the Euro, keeping inflation low.

The Constitution of Macedonia guarantees the free transfer and repatriation of investment capital and profits. By law, foreign investors are entitled to transfer profits and income without being subject to a transfer tax. Investment returns are generally remitted within the international standards of three working days.

Expropriation and Compensation
According to the Constitution of Macedonia and the Law on Expropriation (Official Gazette 33/95, amended Official Gazette 20/98, and 40/99), foreign ownership is exempt from expropriation except during instances of war or natural disaster, or for reasons of public interest. Public Interest, as defined by this Law, includes the following:

- Construction of infrastructure;
- Construction of power stations, waterworks, water supply systems, postal and communication systems and all accompanying and supporting infrastructure;
- Construction of buildings for defense and civil protection and regulation of border crossings;
- Buildings and equipment for research of natural resources, education, science, health, culture, social security, athletics or activities;
- Building settlements following extreme natural disasters and relocation settlements.

The beneficiary of expropriation is the state, especially when it allocates finances for public service, public enterprise, public funding and local government units. Under the Law on Expropriation, the state is obliged to pay market value for any property expropriated. If the payment is not made within 15 days of the decision brought for expropriation, default interest will be calculated.

There have been no expropriation measures taken since the 1950s, nor is there any reason to believe the government will take such action in the future. The government does not impose confiscation taxes of any kind.

In 2002, under the Law on Denationalization, the government pursued an ambitious plan for returning or compensating nationalized property to claimants. Although many claims were resolved in 2002, much remains to be done as the current government slowed down its efforts at denationalization.

Dispute Settlement
Under Macedonian law, arbitration of international disputes is distinct from that of domestic disputes. The parties involved in an international dispute may agree to settle through a domestic or foreign arbitration tribunal. Ratified international agreements trump domestic legislation.

International arbitration is recognized and accepted as valid by government regulation. The government accepts binding international arbitration on investment disputes and has over 40 internationally accredited arbiters on the country’s arbitration list. The arbitration court applies the appropriate law based on issues determined by the parties. In the event that the parties cannot agree on the issues involved in the case, the court then makes its own assessment of the merits of the case.

International sources of arbitration law consist of bilateral and multilateral conventions, which Macedonia has signed or inherited from the former Yugoslavia on the basis of succession. Macedonia has signed the Convention Establishing the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the New York Convention of 1958 (governing the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards), and the Geneva Convention on the Execution of Foreign Arbitral Awards. Macedonia is also a party to the Washington Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States and the European Convention on International Commercial Arbitration.
Furthermore, Parliament has instituted legislative changes to administer laws related to foreign investment. With the 1995 enactment of the Law on Courts, the judicial body evolved into a three-tiered court system: the Basic Court (or Court of the First Instance), the Appellate Court and the Supreme Court.
Performance Requirements and Incentives
Both the Law on Customs and Law on Profit Taxes offer incentives to foreign investors. Foreign investors are eligible for profit tax exemptions in four areas:

-Profits generated during the first three years of operation, in proportion to the amount of foreign investment;
-All profits reinvested in the company (maximum 25 percent of the tax base);
-Profits invested in environmental protection; and
-Profits invested in "underdeveloped" regions (maximum 50 percent of the tax base).

In 2003, the government amended the profit tax law to allow a tax base deduction of one euro for each euro of investment in fixed assets up to 100,000 euros, and 0.30 euros for each euro of investment over 100,000. The Ministry of Finance will also introduce this year a new profit tax law addressing EU and Western business standards while offering enhanced incentives to both domestic businesses and foreign direct investment.

Companies with at least 20 percent foreign capital are exempt from customs duties for the first three years after registration.

Foreign investors are not required to purchase from local sources or to export.
There are also no requirements for the government to be a partner in the enterprise. Commercial agreements determine which entity retains control over the investment revenue. Further, there are no requirements for reducing foreign equity over time or for transferring technology.

Geography plays an important role in determining investment incentives. The government places an emphasis on building in underdeveloped regions, and offers tax deductions as an incentive to develop, for example, in mountainous territory, border zones or rural regions.

Macedonia’s government has no objections to accepting international monetary assistance or counsel from leading experts in sectors such as the economy, law, and education. When Macedonia receives foreign credit, the government is required to inform the parliament. Once informed, members of parliament decide whether the credit will be accepted. The government may, however, accept donations and irrevocable assistance without consulting with the parliament.

The Law on Residency of Foreign Citizens sets requirements for both working and resident visas. There are some non-discriminatory limitations on obtaining a visa. A foreign citizen working in Macedonia can be issued a multiple entry visa. An employer should apply to the Employment Bureau to obtain a work permit for any foreign employees working in Macedonia on a temporary or permanent basis.
There is no discriminatory export or import policy affecting foreign investors. Almost 96 percent of total trade (export/import) is unrestricted, with some exceptions for textile products. There are also quotas based on preferential agreements signed with the former Yugoslav countries. Current tariffs and other customs-related information are published on the Customs website, http://www.customs.gov.mk.

Right to Private Ownership and Establishment
Under Article 30 of the Constitution of Macedonia, the investor's right to own property is guaranteed. Foreign investors may acquire property rights for buildings and rights for other fixed assets to be used for their business activities. They may acquire residential property, but not ownership rights over construction land. Foreign investors are permitted to have only land-use rights, not land ownership rights. Ownership of property requires preservation of specific rights that serve both the individual and the community. For example, no person may be deprived of his/her property or the rights deriving from it unless the use of that property affects the general welfare of the public. If the property is expropriated or restricted, rightful compensation of its market value is guaranteed.

Macedonia has two laws governing competition, a law on restricted competition and an anti-monopoly law. Macedonia still lacks a fair competition law however. Under current law, state enterprises enjoy special privileges vis-à-vis their private counterparts. This is a new area of concern for the country’s judicial system; and it is not yet clear how Macedonia will address this issue.

In May 2004, Parliament enacted a new law for trade companies to establish a legal environment for the development of domestic commercial entities and to encourage foreign investment. Under the Law on Trade Companies, trade companies are formed as separate legal entities that operate independently and are distinct from their founders, shareholders and managers. Depending on the type, trade companies have their own rights, liabilities, names and managerial offices. Under this law, there are five forms of trade companies: public trade (general partnership), limited partnership, limited liability company, joint stock company and limited partnership by shares.

This law gives shareholders important rights, guarantees greater transparency in all operations of publicly-held companies, and attempts to reduce obstacles to registration and permitting.

Protection of Property Rights
The Industrial Property Law, enacted in 1993, amended in 1998, and renamed the Law for Protection of Intellectual Property, governs the acquisition of intellectual property. The Industrial Property Bureau governs patents, trademarks, service marks, designs, models and samples. The protection of author's rights, software, CD and other intellectual property is administered by the Inspection Service within the Ministry of Culture, established in 1999.

Macedonia joined the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1993, and in 1994 became a member of the Permanent Committee of Industrial Property Protection Information of WIPO. As a successor to the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Macedonia has adhered to international conventions and agreements that govern these rights.

Macedonia’s accession to the WTO in April 2003 underscored the urgent need for the government to prevent copyright infringement. The first step in that direction was taken in 2002 when the Government reached an agreement with Microsoft to legalize all government software. Joint action taken by the Inspectors from the Ministry of Culture and Interior has shown some results in combating piracy in the production and sale of items such as CDs, DVDs, movies, and software. However, pirated items remain common.

With the new Customs Law, in force begining January 1, 2006, Customs has increased authorities for investigation and seizure of pirated goods. With an order from the Public prosecutor, Customs also has the right to search private property and seize pirated and illegally imported goods.
Transparency of Regulatory System
In Macedonia, there are no laws, policies, or legal regulations that impede foreign investments. On the contrary, the government seeks to increase the level of foreign investment by enacting legal provisions (i.e. tax incentives) favorable to investors. Such provisions notwithstanding, excessive bureaucratic ‘red tape’ still poses difficulties in all spheres of government administration, providing opportunities for corruption. Some foreign investors are also dissuaded from pursuing business activities by irregular or severely delinquent payment by Macedonian clients for goods and/or services.

Efficient Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment
There are no legal barriers to the free flow of financial resources and portfolio investments. Financial resources are almost entirely managed through the Macedonian banking system. At the end of the first half of 2005, foreign investors owed roughly 52 percent of total banking assets, and foreign capital was present in 16 out of total of 20 banks. According to the Central Bank data, at the end of June 2005 the percentage of non-performing loans in the total credit portfolio was 11.8 percent. Supervisory monitoring has been strengthened, restoring depositors' confidence. Banks have high liquidity but a relatively low intermediation rate. Credit is available on the local market and allocated on market terms. Retail interest rates declined in 2005, ranging from between 8 and 17 percent, depending on the type of loan.

Domestic companies are financed primarily from cash flow, due to lack of corporate bonds or securities as alternative credit instruments. Because of the scarcity of private financing, the need for financial assets creates increased credit demand.

Macedonia’s securities markets are limited in turnover and capitalization. The establishment of a Stock Exchange in 1995 made it possible for portfolio investments to be regulated. On March 28, 1996, the commencement of trading operations created a central market place for securities trading. This was also the first organized stock exchange in the history of the country. Until recently, activity on the stock market was extremely limited, but the offer of shares from well-established companies in 2005 attracted both domestic and foreign investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted legislation that regulates Macedonia’s securities market. Only a handful of companies are listed on the First Market and a small number of shares are traded. Most of the activity takes place on the Second and Third Markets, where less transparency and disclosure are required. In January 2004, the government started issuing treasury bills and in December 2005 it issued eurobonds worth 150 million euros. Both instruments proved to be attractive to investors. Other government-issued bonds are for frozen foreign currency deposits and denationalization. Despite an open and fully convertible current account, there is little portfolio investment in the form of short-term capital inflows.

Macedonia has no regulatory defense measures directed against foreign investment. Similarly, there are no private or governmental efforts directed toward restricting foreign entities from investment, participation, or control of domestic enterprises, consortia or industrial organizations. With the inflow of international aid, experts and projects, Macedonia is in the process of harmonizing its legal and regulatory systems with international standards.

Political Violence
Ethnic Albanian insurgents and government forces engaged in an armed conflict in 2001. The Ohrid Framework Agreement, signed in August 2001, ended the conflict by granting greater legal and political rights to Macedonia's ethnic Albanian and other minority communities. Since then, political violence has diminished dramatically, and the country has shifted its focus from security and stability to economic development and integration into the EU and NATO. There was some violence related to organized crime activities. Citing political grievances, an armed ethnic-Albanian paramilitary/criminal group briefly occupied a village a few kilometers outside of Skopje in late 2004 and again in early 2005. The group lacked the support of local citizens and ethnic Albanian political leaders, however, and the stand-off was resolved peacefully. There have been no instances of violence directed specifically at foreign businesspeople or investors.
Corruption
Like its Eastern and Central European neighbors, after the fall of communism, Macedonia inherited a government system rife with corruption. By establishing an Anti-corruption Commission, the government made a commitment to combat corruption and bribery in public administration, focusing also on senior-level officials. A series of laws have been drafted and amended to control vices ranging from drug abuse to money laundering, and to create a legal firewall against corrupt practices, but enforcement has been anemic. In addition to the Laws on Criminal Procedure that criminalize acts of bribery, illegal mediation and the abuse of official position, two major laws for combating corruption were adopted in 2002: the Law on Money Laundering Prevention, establishing a directorate to monitor and report money laundering, and the Law on Corruption Prevention, which provides jail terms of up to 10 years for corruption and allows confiscation of illegally-obtained property.

Macedonia has signed the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Convention on Combating Bribery. Though the necessary laws are in place, enforcement is weak, and the public is still skeptical of the government's willingness to prosecute corrupt officials within its ranks. The public generally views the police, courts, customs agency and the healthcare sector as the most corrupt public institutions. Transparency International operates in Macedonia and gave Macedonia a score of 2.7 (on a 1 to 10 scale where 10 is least corrupt) on the Corruption Perception Index.

Bilateral Investment Agreements
Macedonia has concluded an "Agreement For Promotion And Protection Of Foreign Direct Investments" with the following countries: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Belarus, Belgium and Luxemburg, Germany, Arab Republic of Egypt, Iran, Italy, Serbia and Montenegro, People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Poland, Republic of Romania, Russia, Republic of China, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, Finland, France, Netherlands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Sweden.

OPIC and Other Investment Insurance Programs
Financing and insurance for exports, investment and development projects are made possible through agencies. Trade and Development Agency (TDA); the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM); the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC); the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank); the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the Southeast Europe Equity Fund (SEEF). Most of the funding for major projects is achieved through co-financing agreements, especially in the transportation, telecommunications and energy infrastructure development fields.

OPIC and MIGA are the country’s chief investment insurance providers. OPIC insurance and project financing have been available to investors in Macedonia since 1996. OPIC's three main activities are risk insurance, project finance and investment funding. MIGA provides investment guarantees against certain non-commercial risks (i.e., political risk insurance) to eligible foreign investors making qualified investments in developing member countries. MIGA covers investors against the risks of currency transfer restrictions, expropriation, breach of contract, and war or civil disturbance.

Though its primary focus is investment assistance - including direct loans and capital guarantees aimed at the export of non-military items - EXIM also provides some insurance policies to protect against both political and commercial risks. TDA, SEEF, World Bank and EBRD focus more directly on financing agreements.

Labor
Relations between employee and employer are regulated by an individual employment contract pursuant to Section II, Articles 13-21 of the Employment Relations Law. Both citizens of Macedonia and foreign nationals are subject to the law. The employment contract, which must be in writing and kept on the premises, should address the following provisions: description of the employee's duties, duration of the contract (finite or not), effective and termination date, location of the work place, hours of work, rest and vacation periods, qualifications and training, salary and payday.

The law is flexible with regard to working hours. Normal working hours for an employee are eight hours per day, five days per week. According to labor regulations, an employee is entitled to a minimum of 20 working days and a maximum of 26 working days paid annual leave during the course of a calendar year. Work permits are required for foreign nationals. There is, however, no limitation on the number of employed foreign nationals or the duration of their stay.

There are two main associations of trade unions. The Union of Trade Unions, the country’s largest, is comprised of independent unions, and encompasses about 14 separate unions organized by industry sector. The newly formed Confederation of Free Trade Unions was established by unions that were formerly members of the Union of Trade Unions.

Trade unions have become interest-based, autonomous labor organizations. Membership is voluntary and activities are financed by membership dues, and, in the case of the Union of Trade Unions, by Government grants. Almost 75 percent of employed workers are dues-paying union members. Due to the difficult economic climate and political infighting, the unions as a rule have not exercised much leverage vis-à-vis employers in recent years.

National collective bargaining agreements are negotiated between the labor unions, representing the employees, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, representing the Government, and the Economic Chamber, representing the employers. There are two main agreements for public and private sector on the national level, and separate contracts are negotiated by the branch unions, or at the industry or company level. The primary pressures that unions face are related to high levels of unemployment and the privatization of inefficient state companies.

Foreign-Trade Zones/Free Ports
There are no active Free Trade Zones in Macedonia, although locations for such zones have been designated (Bunardzik - an area north of Skopje; an area at the town of Gevgelija near the border with Greece; and an area between the town of Bitola and the border with Greece). Amended legislation (http://www.finance.gov.mk/gb/laws/freezone.pdf) has been prepared for permitting and regulating such zones, and a Directorate of a Free Economic Zone was established in order to conduct activities regarding the development, establishment and supervision of activities in the free economic zones.
Foreign Direct Investment Statistics
1. Net Annual Foreign Direct Investment by Year:

Year $ Millions
1998 127.7
1999 32.7
2000 174.5
2001 441.5
2002 77.2
2003 94.6
2004 151.3

Q1-Q3 2005 88.8

(Source: National Bank of Macedonia.)

2. Foreign Direct Investment by Country ($ millions) (for selected countries):

Country 2001 2002 2003 2004 Q1-Q3 2005
Germany 186.2 0.8 4.9 6.2 0.7
Greece 67.2 44.3 6.6 30.1 4.9
Hungary 92.2 0.02 0.01 0.02 0.0
U.S.A. 64.1 4.3 3.5 0.5 1.5
Switzerland 8.7 2.5 13.6 8.0 13.9
Cyprus 1.4 4.9 0.2 1.7 1.6
Slovenia 3.7 3.9 6.1 4.4 4.8
Italy 2.7 0.5 0.7 7.4 12.8
Great Britain 1.2 2.3 6.8 0.6 0.3
Austria 2.8 0.3 2.63 3.5 11.7

(Source: National Bank of Macedonia; Macedonian Telekom investment in 2001 split among individual countries in consortium.)

3. Top Foreign Investments through Privatization and Post-Privatization

Name Country Investment Size(US$m)
Stonebridge (various) Makedonski Telekom 346.5
National Bank Greece Stopanska Banka 46.4
Balkanbrew Holding Greece Skopje Brewery 34.0
Hellenic Petroleum Greece OKTA refinery 32.0
Titan, Holderbank Greece, Switz. Usje Cement Factory 30.0
Balkan Steel Liecht. Ladna Valalnica 21.0
QBE Insurance UK ADOR Makedonija 14.8
Duferco Switz. Makstil 11.5
East West Trade Austria Centro 11.0
KuppBall- Transthandel Germany FZC Kumanovo 3.4
SCMM France Feni-Kavadarci 2.3

(Source: EBRD Investment Profile for Macedonia)

Web Resources

National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia - http://www.nbrm.gov.mk

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development - http://www.ebrd.com

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development - http://www.oecd.org

Website of the Government of Macedonia - http://www.gov.mk

Ministry of Economy - http://www.economy.gov.mk

Ministry of Finance - http://www.finance.gov.mk

Ministry of Culture - http://www.culture.in.mk

Ministry of Internal Affairs - http://www.mvr.gov.mk

Industrial Property Protection Office - http://www.ippo.gov.mk

Free Trade Zone "Bunardzik" - http://www.bunardzik.com.mk

Macedonian Customs Authority - http://www.customs.gov.mk

Macedonian Statistical Office - http://www.stat.gov.mk

Return to table of contents
Chapter 6: Trade and Project Financing
• How Do I Get Paid (Methods of Payment)
• How Does the Banking System Operate
• Foreign-Exchange Controls
• Local Correspondent Banks
• Project Financing
• Web Resources

How Do I Get Paid (Methods of Payment)
Trade financing options for Macedonian importers are limited. A considerable number of large importers regularly receive goods under a short-term supplier credit agreement. Importers are free to arrange payments through long-term supplier loans when they make larger purchases. For transactions abroad, the most preferred forms of payment are letters of credit or payments made in advance. The Macedonian Development Bank does provide some loans to companies seeking to purchase technology and equipment from overseas.

A USAID sponsored project – The Commercial Finance Fund, targets established Macedonian companies that need short-term financing to fill a large order. The project offers companies competitive interest rates for working capital against a purchase order.

How Does the Banking System Operate
The financial system in Macedonia consists of the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia (Central Bank), commercial banks, savings houses, exchange offices, money market, the Deposit Insurance Fund, as well as insurance companies and a stock exchange. The banking system itself is two-tiered, based on the Banking Law and the National Bank Law. The Central Bank is the independent money-issuing institution responsible for the stability of the national currency (denar), general liquidity of payments within the country and abroad, and the conduct of monetary policy. The Central Bank also serves as the main regulatory body responsible for the supervision of all banking institutions.

In cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the Central Bank is implementing a monetary program whose main goal is to maintain price stability. This objective is being achieved by an exchange rate targeting strategy, whereby the denar is pegged against the euro as a nominal anchor for the economy. The Central Bank prepares annual monetary and foreign exchange projections and reports, which are subject to approval by the Parliament.

The banking system in Macedonia consists of 20 private banks, 15 savings houses and the state-owned Macedonian Bank for Development Promotion. According to the Banking Law, banks observe the principles of profit maximization, liquidity, safety and profitability. A foreign bank can establish a branch either as a legal entity or as a representative office. Savings houses are limited in their banking activities to savings-related services for individuals. They may neither undertake other banking operations nor directly offer services to companies.

The group of large banks, consisting of Komercijalna Banka, Stopanska Banka Skopje and Tutunska Banka, dominate the banking system. In 2005, these banks had 68.1 percent of the total net assets of the banking system, market share of 69.1 percent, 43.9 percent of the banking capital, 69.2 percent of the total credits and 76.2 percent of the total deposits.

The banking sector in 2002 enjoyed a deposit increase with the changeover of 12 European currencies into the euro, since banks offered their customers lower or no commissions to convert to the euro. Most of the deposits stayed inside these banks after the conversion. Moreover, there is a constant increasing trend of deposits in banks reflecting higher trust in the banking system. Loans are also increasing, but still not enough for a serious boost to the enterprise sector. Due to the short maturity of the deposits, banks are reluctant to lend on a longer-term and tend to keep most of their liquidity safe in accounts abroad or purchasing treasury bills.

Few banks in Macedonia face liquidity or solvency problems. The Macedonian bank Ex-Im was placed into the Central Bank's receivership at the beginning of 2003 and underwent bankruptcy procedure in 2004. In 2005, another bank, Rado Banka, had its operating license revoked by the Central Bank, and a bankruptcy procedure was opened. Also, due to liquidity and ownership structure problems, Makedonska Banka lost its license for international financial activities, and now operates only within the country. A joint IMF and World Bank team, in their Financial Sector Assessment Program conducted in 2003, assessed the banking system as stable and resistant to various risks (interest rates, foreign exchange, credit risk etc.). They also gave recommendations for further improvement of banking supervision.

The banking sector at the end of June 2005 had net profit of US$ 18.6 million: 18 banks with a market share of 97.3 percent realized total net profit of US$ 19.9 million, and only two banks, which had market share of 2.7 percent, have shown losses totaling US$ 1.3 million. The banking system in Macedonia employs about 4,600 people.

The financial system is relatively weak based on western standards, but has improved considerably over the past several years. In most cases, commercial banks have offered new banking services and products for private businesses. With the reform of the payments system, banks have taken over all payment transactions from the former Payment Operations Bureau. The use of credit cards, however, is still not widespread. Although credit is available, it is expensive and difficult to access without large collateral security. Customer service is still poor according to western standards and needs improvement.

The relatively low level of domestic savings in the banking system, high and rigid demand for financial assets, as well as high operational costs, have led to high nominal and real interest rates in the commercial banking sector over the past several years. With more disciplined fiscal policy, interest rates started to come down a bit in 2004, maintaining the same trend during 2005. Availability of credit to the private sector is constrained by requirements for high levels of collateral in the form of real estate, which often is appraised by the banks at lower than the market value.

Foreign-Exchange Controls

Domestic and foreign entities are treated equally when opening bank accounts in Macedonia. Foreign exchange operations are regulated by the Law on Foreign Exchange Operations (Official Gazette No. 49/2001 and Official Gazette No. 103/2001), which became effective on October 15, 2002. The main objectives of this law are to:

1.regulate resident and non-resident foreign transfers to and from Macedonia;
2.supervise and control foreign exchange.

This law also regulates the operations of exchange offices. Foreign currency accounts and foreign currency deposits of domestic and foreign individuals are regulated by the Banking Law (Official Gazette No. 63/2000). The Macedonian Parliament in July 2003 adopted changes to the Banking Law, the National Bank Law and the Law on Foreign Exchange Operations. Currently, experts from the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank are preparing new changes in the National Bank Law, which are expected to pass the Parliament in 2006 and will strengthen the authorities of the Central Bank.

- Major Macedonian banks:

Komercijalna Banka AD
Kej. D. Vlahov, 4
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Tel: 389-2-310-7107
Fax: 389-2-311-1780
http://www.kb.com.mk

Stopanska Banka AD (majority owned by Greek National Bank – GNB)
Ul. 11 Oktomvri, 7
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Tel: 389-2-329-5295
Fax: 389-2-311-4503
http://www.stb.com.mk

Tutunska Banka
Ul. 12-ta udarna Brigada, BB
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Tel: 389-2-316-1114
Fax: 389-2-310-5600
http://www.tb.com.mk

ProCredit Bank
Ul. Jane Sandanski, 109 A
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Tel: 389-2-321-9900
Fax: 389-2-321-9901
http://www.pbb.com.mk

Macedonian Bank for Development Promotion
Ul. Veljko Vlahovic, 26
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Tel: 389-2-311-5844
Fax: 389-2-323-9688
http://www.mbdp.com.mk

Project Financing
Financing and insurance for exports, investment and development projects are possible through. Trade and Development Agency (TDA), the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the Southeast Europe Equity Fund (SEEF).

Most major project funding is achieved through co-financing agreements, especially for transportation, telecommunication and energy projects.

Chapter 7: Business Travel

• Business Customs
• Travel Advisory
• Telecomunications
• Transportation
• Language
• Health
• Local Time, Business Hours and Holidays
• Temporary Entry of Materials and Personal Belongings
• Web Resources

Business Customs
There are no specific customary business practices that are distinct to Macedonia. The process of economic transition has led to the adoption of many Western business codes of conduct in this country.

The more traditional businesses operate from 8 AM until 4 PM, but an increasing number of businesses are adopting Western working hours.

Crime in Macedonia is relatively low, but precautionary measures should be taken at all times.

Telecommunications
Fixed telephony is available in all towns, but visitors will usually rent a cell phone on arrival. European GSM phones will work in Macedonia. There is cell phone coverage in all populated areas and in most unpopulated areas as well.

Fixed line services are provided by Macedonian Telecommunications (MacTel). There are two cell phone service providers – Mobimak, wholly owned by MacTel, and Greek-owned OTE - Cosmofon.

There are several Internet access service providers. See Web Resources.

Transportation

Airports:

Skopje Airport – Petrovec (20km east from Skopje)
Tel: 389-2-323-5156
http://www.airports.com.mk

Ohrid Airport (12km north-west from Ohrid)
Tel: 389-46-262-503
http://www.airports.com.mk

Airlines:

Macedonian Airlines – MAT
Tel: 389-2-329-2300
http://www.mat.com.mk

Adria Airways
Tel: 389-2-311-7009
http://www.adria-airways.com

Alitalia
Tel: 389-2-311-8602
http://www.alitalia.com

Austrian Airlines
Tel: 389-2-312-8177
http://www.austrian.airlines.com.mk

Croatia Airlines
Tel: 389-2-311-5858
http://www.croatiairlines.com

Cirrus Airlines
Tel: 389-2-321-6100
http://www.cirrus-airlines.de

JAT
Tel: 389-2-311-8306
http://www.jat.com

Lufthansa
Tel: 389-2-312-8177
http://www.lufthansa.com

Malev Hungarian Airlines
Tel: 389-2-311-1214
http://www.malev.hu

SWISS Airlines
Tel: 389-2-322-6813
http://www.swiss.com

Turkish Airlines
Tel: 389-2-311-7214
http://www.turkishairlines.com

Rent a Car agencies:

AVIS Rent a Car
Tel: 389-2-322-2046
http://www.avis.com.mk

BUDGET Rent a Car
Tel: 389-2-329-0222
http://www.budget.com.mk

Language
Many of the citizens speak foreign languages. English is the predominant foreign language, followed by German and French. Although many companies in Macedonia have English speakers among their managers, business representatives should be prepared to do business through locally hired interpreters.

Health

Health facilities are limited, and are rarely up to Western standards, though lately there is a trend of opening more of a well furnished and equipped private hospitals. Medicines may be in short supply. Hepatitis A, Brucellosis and Tuberculosis are endemic in Macedonia. Travelers to the region may wish to consult their physicians about the advisability of getting a Hepatitis A vaccination.
Local Time, Business Hours, and Holidays
Time: GMT + 1 hour

Business Hours: 08:00 – 16:00

2006 Holidays:

January 1-3 - New Year’s Day
January 7 - Orthodox Christmas
January 10* - Kurban Bajram
April 23* - Orthodox Easter
May 1-2 - Labor Day
August 2 - Ilinden Uprising Day
September 8 - Independence Day
October 11 - People’s Uprising Against Fascism
October 23* - Ramadan Bajram
December 31* - Kurban Bajram

*changes every year

If a holiday falls on a weekend, the government will generally issue a decision shortly before the holiday declaring the preceding Friday or following Monday an official holiday. In some cases, the government may declare an extended holiday. For instance, because of the alignment of New Year’s Day and Orthodox Christmas in 2005, the government declared the entire week of January 3rd a holiday.

Consistent with European practices, business activity in Macedonia slows during late July and August, when many people take their extended summer holidays.

Temporary Entry of Materials and Personal Belongings
http://www.customs.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=22

Web Resources

Macedonian Telecom
Tel: 389-2-314-1411
http://www.mt.net.mk

Mobimak
Tel: 389-70-6622
http://www.mobimak.com.mk

Cosmofon
Tel: 389-2-244-1000
http://www.cosmofon.com.mk

MT Net
Tel: 389-2-311-4454
http://www.mt.net.mk

ON Net
Tel: 389-2-310-0800
http://www.on.net.mk

Unet
Tel: 389-2-306-6505
http://www.unet.mk

Chapter 9: Contacts

• Contacts

Contacts

Government of Macedonia

Website: www.gov.mk

Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia
Mr. Nikola Dimitrov, Ambassador
1101 30th Street NW, #502, Suite 302
Washington, D.C. 20007
Phone: 202-337-3063 or Fax: 202-337-3093

Ministry of Transport and Communications
Mr. Xhemali Mehazi, Minister
Plostad Crvena Skopska Opstina, 4
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-312-3292 or Fax: 389-2-312-6228
http://www.dtk.gov.mk

Ministry of Economy
Mr. Fatmir Besimi, Minister
Jurij Gagarin, 15
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-309-3470 or Fax: 389-2-308-4472
http://www.economy.gov.mk

Ministry of Finance
Mr. Nikola Popovski, Minister
Dame Gruev, 14
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-6012 or Fax: 389-2-311-7280
http://www.finance.gov.mk

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Resource Management
Mr. Sadula Duraku, Minister
Leninova, 2
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-3045 or Fax: 389-2-321-1997
http://www.mzsv.gov.mk

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Mrs. Ilinka Mitreva, Minister
Dame Gruev, 6
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-9190 or Fax: 389-2-311-5790
http://www.mnr.gov.mk

Ministry of Defense
Mr. Jovan Manasievski, Minister
Orce Nikolov, bb
1000, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-2872 or Fax: 389-2-322-7835
http://www.morm.gov.mk

Ministry of Health
Mr. Vladimir Dimov, Minister
Vodnjanska,bb
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-3429 or Fax: 389-2-311-3014
http://www.zdravstvo.gov.mk

Ministry of Labor and Social Policy
Mr.Stevco Jakimovski, Minister,
Dame Gruev, 14
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-7787 or Fax: 389-2-311-8242
http://www.mtsp.gov.mk

Ministry of Education and Science
Mr. Azis Pollozhani, Minister
Dimitrija Cupovski, bb
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-7896 or Fax: 389-2-311-8414
http://www.mon.gov.mk

Ministry of Culture
Mr. Blagoja Stefanovski, Minister
Bulevar Ilinden, bb
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-312-7163 or Fax: 389-2-312-7112
http://www.culture.in.mk

Ministry of Justice
Mrs. Meri Mladenovska - Gjorgjievska, Minister
Dimitrija Cupovski, bb
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-323-0732 or Fax: 389-2-322-6975
http://www.covekovi-prava.gov.mk

Ministry of Internal Affairs
Mr. Ljubomir Mihajlovski, Minister
Dimce Mircev, bb
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-322-1972 or Fax: 389-2-311-2468
http://www.mvr.gov.mk

Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning
Mr.Zoran Shapuric, Minister
Drezdenska, 52
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-306-6930 or Fax: 389-2-306-6931
http://www.moe.gov.mk

Ministry of Local Self - Government
Mr. Rizvan Sulejmani, Minister
Dimitrija Cupovski, 9
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-321-1829 or Fax: 389-2-321-1764
http://www.mls.gov.mk

Agency of Information
Mr. Vele Mitanoski, Director
Guro Gakovic, 64
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-8038 or Fax: 389-2-311-4695
http://www.mia.com.mk

Agency for Foreign Investments
Viktor Delov, Director
Nikola Vapcarov 7
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-312-6059 or Fax: 389-2-312-2098
Email: v.delov@macinvest.org.mk
www.macinvest.org.mk

Customs Administration
Mr. Ilija Ilovski, Director
Lazar Licenovski, 13
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-6188; 322-4342 or Fax: 389-2-323-7832
http://www.customs.com.mk

National Bank (Central Bank)
Mr. Petar Goshev, Governor
Kompleks Banki, bb
PO Box 401
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-2177 or Fax: 389-2-311-1161
http://www.nbrm.com.mk

Statistical Office
Mr. Apostol Simovski, Director
Dame Gruev, 4
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-329-5600 or Fax: 389-2-311-1336
http://www.stat.gov.mk

Industrial Property Protection Office
Mr. Xhemail Elmazi, Director
Bulevar Ilinden, bb
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Phone: 389-2-311-6379 or Fax: 389-2-311-6041
http://www.ippo.gov.mk

The Skopje Trade Fair schedule is at:

http://www.skopjefair.com.mk/index_en.htm

Fourth meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Committee held in Brussels

2007-07-25T13:00:00.000+02:00

The Stabilisation and Association Council (SA Council) between the Republic of Macedonia and the EU held its fourth meeting on 24 July 2007. The meeting was chaired by Mr Antonio Milososki, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia. The Presidency of the Council was represented by Mr Manuel Lobo Antunes, State Secretary for European Affairs of Portugal. Mr Jan Truszczinski, Deputy Director General of the Commission's Directorate General for Enlargement, and Mr Dimitrij Rupel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia as well as the EU Special Representative and Head of the Commission's delegation to the Republic of Macedonia, Erwan Fouéré, also participated in the meeting.
The SA Council recalled the December 2006 European Council, which had noted that the candidate status of the Republic of Macedonia was a recognition of reform achievements and had called on the country to accelerate the pace of reforms in order to progress towards the goal of moving ahead in the accession process. The EU noted that the Commission's forthcoming Progress Report would serve as a basis for the Council's next regular review of progress achieved within the SAP. It also noted the Republic of Macedonia’s strong commitment to advancing the pace of reforms in order to meet the necessary conditions for opening accession negotiations as soon as possible.
The SA Council reviewed developments related to the political criteria. The EU welcomed the resumed political dialogue and the Government’s dedication aimed at securing the support of all political forces in the enforcement of the country’s EU agenda, underlying that stable and functioning democratic institutions were core aspects of the political criteria. The EU looked forward to a continued and constructive political dialogue on issues of fundamental national importance. The SA Council noted the efforts to ensure effective implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, and recalled that this implementation remains crucial for the process of EU-integration.
The SA Council reviewed progress on judicial reform, calling for continuous efforts to ensure its full implementation, as well as for the enactment of the remaining legislative acts related to public prosecution service. The SA Council welcomed progress made in the preparation of the entry into force of the Law on Police and stressed the importance of dialogue between Government and Opposition to ensure implementation.
The EU welcomed the political will demonstrated in the fight against corruption and the latest results achieved in this regard, but emphasised that only the continuous and effective implementation of adopted measures and a strong and sustained political commitment will have a real impact on fighting this widespread phenomenon.
The SA Council furthermore reviewed progress as regards public administration reform, regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations.
Welcoming the initialling of the agreements on visa facilitation and readmission, the SA Council looked forward to their early entry into force. The SA Council noted the importance of the perspective for establishing mutual visa free travel regime.
Concerning the economic criteria, the SA Council reviewed the progress made in improving the business and investment climate as well as the continued macroeconomic stability and maintained fiscal discipline. The EU expressed concern for the high level of structural unemployment and encouraged the Government to strengthen efforts to improve the functioning of the labour market and pursue the structural reforms needed to have a positive impact on the economy.
The SA Council reviewed the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, noting that the Republic of Macedonia has implemented most of its obligations thereof. It welcomed the legislative progress in various areas, such as customs, transport, internal market and competition and underlined the key importance of strengthening administrative capacity to ensure effective implementation. The SA Council furthermore reviewed progress as regards competition, the protection of intellectual property and competition in the telecommunication market.
The SA Council welcomed the conclusion of negotiations on a Protocol to the SAA to take account of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU. It also welcomed the Memorandum of Understanding concluded to associate the country to the seventh EC Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development and encouraged the Republic of Macedonia to pursue its efforts to join EC programmes and agencies.
The SA Council expressed support for the request made by the Republic of Macedonia to create Joint Consultative Committees with the EU's Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions respectively.
The SA Council exchanged views on the developments in the Western Balkans and welcomed the active participation of the Republic of Macedonia in the new forms of regional cooperation in South Eastern Europe. The EU welcomed the continuous support given by the Republic of Macedonia to the efforts of the international community on settling the Kosovo status, and its commitment in aligning with the position of the EU. The EU also welcomed the Republic of Macedonia's participation in operation Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The SA Council was briefed on the EU's renewed consensus on enlargement, as set out by the December 2006 European Council, as well as on the outcome of the June European Council relating to the reform of the EU Treaty and the way ahead.

EU lawmakers to vote on Macedonia report

2007-07-19T14:01:00.001+02:00

European Parliament will vote Thursday on the report on Macedonia's progress toward EU membership, a day after the lawmakers gave their opinion on the issue.

"The progress toward EU is in the hands of political leaders in the country. I believe that the Government and the Parliament will take into consideration the recommendations in the European Commission's report," the EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told the MEPs during the debate.

He called on the government and all political parties in Macedonia to focus on continuation of reforms instead of focusing on the starting date of EU accession talks.

"Dialogue is basis for achieving stability and functioning of institutions," Commissioner Rehn said, adding that Brussels expects full implementation of political dialogue between VMRO-DPMNE and DUI.

He pointed out that despite the last year's slowed down progress, the country can return this year to the reform-determined track.

Commissioner Rehn also called for a constructive approach to mutually acceptable solution to name issue between Macedonia and Greece under the UN auspices.

The debate was attended by members of the Macedonian delegation, 10 MEPs, including the Rapporteur on Macedonia, Dutch MEP Erik Meijer, Greeks MEPs, Green Party MEPs and Socialists' MEPs.

Rapporteur Meijer gave historical remarks regarding the name issue, noting that both sides should reach a compromise to face the different stands. Otherwise, it will be impossible that Macedonia be treated fairly in the process of integration into the EU.

Meier also said that it is necessary that the country removes "all symbols, maps and provocations". He also mentioned that Macedonia undergoes serious problems in terms of environmental pollution, corruption, judiciary problems that are still not solved.

"It is not clear yet about the state's role in the El-Masri case," Meijer said.

MEP Doris Pack called for accelerated implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, reforms in judiciary, police, economy, and the fight against corruption and organized crime. "A lot of work needs to be done," Pack said, adding that Macedonia must wrap up these urgent tasks.

The three Greek MEPs Giorgos Karadzaferiss, Panayotis Beglitis and Giorgos Dimitrakopoulos focused on name dispute, insisting that the matter is not a bilateral issue only.

The other lawmakers, on the other hand, made it clear that the name should not hinder the negotiations between Macedonia and EU.

The European Parliament today will vote on the report on Macedonia's progress in 2006. The European Commission is to release its Macedonia progress report on 7 November, which holds the key to EU decision to launch accession talks with Macedonia.

Pre-accession assistance for 2007-2009 agreed

2007-07-18T11:36:00.000+02:00

The European Commission has finalised its plans for assistance to the candidate and potential candidate countries for 2007-2009. It adopted on June 20 the strategy for Croatia under its Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, after earlier adopting similar strategies for the Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo. The overall indicative amount for the period for all these countries totals €3.96 billion.

Financial assistance to those countries aims to help them enhance political and economic reform and development, on their path towards EU membership. Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said: "The crux of the matter in the EU's enlargement process is that the political, economic and institutional reforms lead to results on the ground, in each and every country. They have to deliver in this challenging process. But they are not alone, the EU stands by their side with political support, technical advice and substantial financial assistance to help them carrying out these reforms. I welcome the adoption of all strategies that is necessary to transform the financial commitment into concrete projects to improve the lives of citizens on the Western Balkans and in Turkey".

For Croatia, the pre-accession assistance strategy is concentrated on institution building and preparation for the implementation of the EU's common agricultural policy and cohesion policy. For the Republic of Macedonia, it aims to consolidate reform of public administration, the judiciary and the police, to improve the local infrastructure, to help the country adopt and implement EU legislation and standards and to prepare for the implementation of the EU's cohesion and rural development policies.

EU assistance to Turkey focuses on support to the stability of institutions so as to guarantee fundamental rights and freedoms, democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the respect for and protection of minorities, and promotion of the EU-Turkey Civil Society Dialogue. EU assistance will also help the country prepare for participation in the EU's cohesion policy and rural development instruments.

For Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, the principal aim of the assistance is improving governance and the rule of law, supporting economic and social development and helping these countries adopt laws in line with those of the EU and building their capacity to make the laws work out on the ground. In Kosovo, EU assistance will support the implementation of the future status settlement provisions, with focus on the development of a stable, modern, democratic and multi-ethnic society based on the respect of the rule of law. It will foster Kosovo's social and economic development for the benefit of all communities.

Besides the country-specific financial assistance, a programme supporting joint projects by several countries will intervene on subjects such as regional cooperation, infrastructure, justice and home affairs, internal market and trade, market economy, supporting civil society, education, youth and research.

Indicative financial envelope for the period 2007-2009

Planned allocation in million € (at current prices)

Croatia
438.5
Republic of Macedonia
210.4
Turkey
1,602.3
Albania
212.9
Bosnia and Herzegovina
226
Montenegro
97.3
Serbia
572.4
Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244)
199.1
Multi-beneficiary
402.7
TOTAL 2007-2009
3,961.6

Environment ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, candidate and potential candidate countries met in Brussels on June 11 to enhance environmental cooperation. The European Commission views these meetings as a useful tool to help candidate and potential candidate countries to better prepare on environmental issues.

Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Serbia signed Memoranda of Understanding with the European Commission on June 13 to enable them to take part fully in the EU's Seventh Research Framework Programme. Turkey signed a similar document on June 1. Montenegro has requested "associated status", and Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina are expected to join soon. “I am pleased to see the doors of the European Research Area are wide open for all the Western Balkan Countries,” said Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik. “Research cooperation with Europe's scientific community is a tool which can smooth the way for the integration process of candidate and potential candidate countries into the European Union.”

"The biggest threat to our policies is fraud and loss of funds because of corruption. It is not just the financial loss which is significant. It is the damage in perception which causes European citizens to question even the legitimacy of these policies and discourages them from supporting such initiatives. This may, in turn, also have a negative impact on the general attitude of people to further enlargement", warned Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud, when he spoke at a meeting in Skopje of the heads of the supreme audit institutions of the candidate and potential candidate countries on June 12.

Fouere says Broadcasting Council undergoes political pressure

2007-05-30T14:04:00.000+02:00

The Broadcasting Council of Macedonia faces political pressures, EU Ambassador Erwan Fouere said on Wednesday.

The Council undergoes problems of political nature, however, it pledges to maintain independence and cope with such tendencies arising from the lack of institutional dialogue, Ambassador Fouere said during his visit to the Broadcasting Council.

Broadcasting Council quotes Ambassador Fouere as saying that during the upcoming meeting of the Stabilization and Association Committee in Brussels, he would personally pledge for preservation and strengthening of the independence of the Broadcasting Council as a regulatory broadcasting authority

Зошто Македонија се оддалечува од ЕУ?

2007-05-24T17:26:00.000+02:00

Ако се сеќавате, во ЕУ, пред неколку години предлогот за еврокомесар од Италија, Роко Бутиљоне никогаш не ја виде светлината на денот, а тој никогаш не ја виде канцеларијата на потпретседателот на Европската комисија во Брисел, наменета токму за него. Причина беа неговите изјави против правата на жените и хомосексуалците, на што реагираше европската јавност, а пратениците во Европскиот парламент го одбија предлогот – ксенофобниот коалиционен партнер на Берлускони да биде заменик на Баросо и нов еврокомесар за правда и внатрешни работи.

Така стоеја работите во ЕУ есента 2004 година. Во Македонија, во мај 2007 година една од владејачките партии и коалиционен партнер на Никола Груевски, Мендух Тачи, јавно ја нападна слободата на изразувањето со закана за линчување на претседателот на Хелсиншкиот комитет, Исо Руси. Руси беше наречен „биолошки хибрид“, „копиле со нечиста крв“, „производ на УДБА“ и сл. Линк-соопштение на Хелсиншкиот комитет на Македонија
Следеа реакции на сите релевантни општествени субјекти, кои го осудија овој случај на „кеснофобија и фашизоидност“. И бидејќи не му е прв пат, навикнати на речникот на Мендух Тачи во улога на локален мангуп, политички дилетант и невоспитан „фраер“ (кој сеуште е на црната листа на САД) не ни помисливме на една работа- каде е осудата од Премиерот, од ВМРО-ДПМНЕ?
Премиерот во повеќе наврати одбива да го осуди Мендух Тачи за своите ксенофобични изјави. Очигледно се согласува со него. Ние како граѓани со поддршката на Премиерот, директно придонесуваме за оформување на модел на успешни луѓе, луѓе на кои се угледуваат средношколците, студентите, младите. А според тој модел, Мендух Тачи е „фраер“. Како општество исправени сме пред предизвикот да ги осудиме таквите „модели“, зошто одговорноста за иднината на младите ја носи секој од нас.
Подзабораваме дека одамна сме под будното око на Европа. Коалициониот партнер на Берлускони и не е така далечен пример, но европските демократски придобивки се се подалеку!
Вака стојат работите во Македонија на пролет 2007 година. Ова е само еден сегмент од нашата реалност. Нема да коментирам дали со ова сме подалеку или поблиску до ЕУ. Ќе ве упатам на веста која вчера (недела 20 мај 2007) ја објави А1 Телевизија, а која вели дека дошле до документ на Европската комисија според кој ЕУ оценува дека Владата паѓа на тестот за европската интеграција. Жално е што на тој тест не паѓа само Владата, туку- Македонија.

2007-05-07T20:26:00.000+02:00

EUROPE DAY 2007
Date Time Place Event Participants Partner organisation
26 April
Thursday 12:00 – 13:00 Holiday Inn
Skopje
Press Conference on the Europe Day
celebration activities Ambassador Erwan Fouéré European Movement, JEF, EBA,
Youth for Youth
29 April
Sunday 11:00 – 11:30 Sport Hall
”Rasadnik” Opening of the Karate Tournament Patrick Paquet, First Secretary (EU Mission),
Children Karate Associations Karate Association
1 May
Tuesday 10:00 – 11:00 Berovo Lecture: "The History of EU" Ambassador Erwan Fouéré,
JEF members + other NGOs
Young European Federalists
(JEF)
2 May
Wednesday 12:00 – 14:00 Veles
Panel Discussion: "European standards for
protection of environment: challenges or
end to the agony of Veles"
Ambassador Erwan Fouéré,
SEA representative, local authorities, NGOs,
general public
European Movement
10:00 – 11:00 Skopje
Official Opening of XIII European
Students' Symposium on Environment
EuroEnviro 2007
Ambassador Erwan Fouéré,
local authorities, students, young people Youth for Youth
11:00 – 13:00 Strumica Panel Discussion:
"Visa Facilitation and European integration"
UK Ambassador Robert Chatterton Dickson,
SEA representative, local authorities, NGOs,
general public
European Movement
13:00 – 15:00 Strumica
Workshops: visa regime, European
standards & values, what can young people
do for the European integration process
JEF members + other NGOs JEF
3 May
Thursday
16:00 – 18:00 Kavadarci
Panel Discussion:
"Macedonia in the Common Agricultural
Policy"
Joan Pearce, First Counsellor (EU Mission),
SEA representative, local authorities, students,
young people, NGO representatives,
general public
European Movement
10:00 – 11:00 Skopje Visit to Canyon Matka
as part of EuroEnviro 2007
Ambassador Erwan Fouéré,
JEF members + other NGOs Youth for Youth
11:00 – 13:00 Prilep Panel Discussion:
"Euro regions and small businesses"
Patrick Paquet, First Secretary (EU Mission),
SEA representative, local authorities, local
authorities, NGOs, general public
European Movement
13:00 – 15:00 Prilep
Workshops: visa regime, European
standards & values, what can young people
do for the European integration process
JEF members + other NGOs JEF
4 May
Friday
15:00 – 17:00 Bitola Panel Discussion: “Euro regions and
Cross-border Cooperation"
Ambassador Erwan Fouéré, Dutch Ambassador
Frederique M. de Man, SEA representative,
local authorities, NGOs, general public
European Movement
Date Time Place Event Participants Partner organisation
5 May
Saturday 12:00 – 15:00 Bitola
Multi-media European Happening
(primary and secondary students present all
25 EU MS, cultural programme)
Ambassador Erwan Fouéré,
general public European Movement
6 May Sunday 10:00 – 14:00 Vodno European Flag Day (placing of EU and
Macedonian flag on Vodno)
Ambassador Erwan Fouéré,
Mountain climbing associations, general public European Movement
11:00 – 13:00 Gostivar Panel Discussion: "Educational reform on
the road to the EU"
Austrian Ambassador Philipp Hoyos,
SEA representative, local authorities,
students, NGO representatives, general public
European Movement
12:00 – 13:00
SEE University
Tetovo
Macedonian Universities Gathering:
Competition in oratorical skills on: "The 50th
Anniversary of the Treaty of Rome"
Joan Pearce, Counsellor (EU Mission),
students from several universities
in the country
European Movement
13:00 – 15:00 Gostivar
Workshops: visa regime, European
standards & values, what can young people
do for the European integration process
JEF members + other NGOs JEF
7 May
Monday
20:00 Army Hall
Skopje
Concert of the Bulgarian
Military Orchestra Bulgarian Embassy + Ministry of
Defence
09:30 – 13:30 Parliament
Building
International conference: "Together
towards Europe: going backwards or
forward"
MPs,
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
European Movement
Parliament
8 May
Tuesday
19:00 – 21:00 Mala Stanica
Solemn Academy
Awarding the "European Contribution for
2006" & the best speech at the SEEU event
on oratorical skills
Ambassador Erwan Fouéré,
government representatives, international
community, NGOs
European Movement
10:00 – 11:00 Holiday Inn
Skopje
Opening of the European Day of
the Entrepreneur
Ambassador Erwan Fouéré,
business community, Government
representatives, international community
European Business Association
12:00 – 13:00 Primary School
"Ljuben Lape"
Awarding Ceremony for best
artistic work
Ambassador Erwan Fouéré
students
Primary School "Ljuben Lape"
Municipality of Aerodrom Skopje
18:00 – 20:00 City of Skopje
Museum Europe Day Reception
9 May
Wednesday
21:00 Ramstore Mall
Skopje
Opening of Photo Exhibition: "Eco-
Tourism discovering the hidden natural
treasure" part of EuroEnviro 2007
Ambassador Erwan Fouéré,
young people,
general public
Youth for Youth
13 May
Sunday 11:00 – 15:00 Skopje Running Races Ambassador Erwan Fouéré,
general public
Sport Union, City of Skopje
Agency for Youth & Sports
19 May
Saturday 17:00 – 18:00 Swimming
pool "Karpos"
Swimming Contest
"Aquatic EuroSwim 2007"
Ambassador Erwan Fouéré,
young swimmers, sport associations
Swimming Club
"Aquatic", Skopje

2007 Europe Day celebration

2007-05-07T20:25:00.001+02:00

On 9 May 1950 in Paris, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman read to the international press a declaration calling France, Germany and other European countries to pool together their coal and steel production as "the first concrete foundation of a European federation". The declaration, issued against the background of the threat of a Third World War engulfing the whole of Europe, is considered to be the first move towards the creation of what is now known as the European Union. Mr Schuman proposed the creation of a supranational European Institution, the High Authority, to look after the management of the coal and steel industry, the very sector which was, at that time, the basis of all military power. The countries which he called upon had almost destroyed each other in a dreadful conflict which had left after it a sense of material and moral desolation. During the Milan Summit in 1985, the EU leaders decided to celebrate 9 May as "Europe Day".

LE PALAIS DE L’ELYSÉE, TGV AND THE MACEDONIAN WAGON

2007-05-04T17:47:00.000+02:00

On May 6th 2007, the French will elect their new Président de la République replacing the Monsieur Jacques Chirac ruling the country for 12 years and paving the way for new and fresh flow of ideas in French and EU foreign affairs. The primary reason for the EU’s and candidate countries high tempered interest in French election is that its outcome will determine the future of the Union itself. Macedonia, as a candidate country sees its own interest in the French presidential election through the lenses of the enlargement process and the process of institutional reform without which it seems that the enlargement can not continue. Many EU representatives including the enlargement commissioner Mr. Olli Rehn repeat the guaranties given that all Western Balkan countries have a future in the EU. Even so, these statements were given with prudence: that the speed of enlargement must take in account the EU’s “absorption capacity”, later renamed into “integration capacity”1. Following elections in the Europe’s three largest economies— with Angela Merkel as German Chancellor, Gordon Brown as the most probable Britain’s next prime minister and the new French President—the long waited process of reforms in the Union can begin commence. It is expected that after the elections France will take its position as a leader and promoter of the European integration process (a foreign policy concept that its political elites have invented) on the arms of the revised text of the rejected EU constitution. This article briefly sketches the two presidential candidate’s political agendas from a standpoint of an EU candidate country. Which of the two candidates programs concerning EU is more suitable and appropriate for Macedonia?

The two candidates that will face each other in the second-round of the presidential runoff are the centre-right candidate Monsieur Nicolas Sarkozy, from the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), and Madame Ségolène Royal from the Socialist Party.

In the first-round of the election, Mr. Sarkozy garnered 31% of the vote, while Ms. Royal, bidding to be France's first female leader, took nearly 26%2. Although different in their views and ideas about the future of the EU, the enlargement process and the so-needed political reforms, both of the candidates remain pro-European oriented. They agree on one thing only, that resubmitting the existing EU constitutional text to the French electorate is not an option. However, the big challenge that lies ahead concerning the institutional reforms of the Union itself is how to push them forward following the French and Dutch rejection of the Constitution two years ago, while keeping in mind the voters concerns and belief about the document. The process of reforms was renewed under the German EU presidency, targeting at a new treaty in time for the 2009 election of the European Parliament. In this sense, the centre-right candidate, Mr. Sarkozy has proposed very reserved proposal, submitting new slim line constitutional treaty or traité simplifié which could be passed in the Assemblée nationale as a standard treaty revision, or put in a different way, simplified European treaty without a need of being submitted to a referendum. In effect he is revisiting some of the old Constitutional policies, such as creating a new position of EU Foreign Affairs Minister, increasing the budget for European Defense3 and implementing new rules in relation to majority voting as a voting procedure4. On the contrary, the centre-left candidate, Ms. Royal has proposed submitting some kind of new alternative, very imprecise new EU treaty with ‘social protocol’ for approval to national referenda5. With it, she wants to combat unemployment and relocation, and establish a minimum wage in each member state6, a high-risk tactic that may throw the EU yet again into a long period of uncertainty.
Which candidate is better for Macedonia? Sarko or Ségo? Which of the two candidates suits better Macedonia’s EU integration interests? To further the process of enlargement, the new EU treaty has to be reached by 2009. Without it, there should be no more expansion, as Mr. Rehn repeated couple of times this year. In this sense, Mr. Sarkozy proposal about traité simplifié is more appropriate for candidate countries like Macedonia. With this kind of procedure, the odds for reaching EU consensus on the new Treaty are significantly higher. It will considerably decrease the possibility of another failure and stagnation of the Union as the one two years ago. The EU oriented foreign policy of the son and grandson of immigrants (his father was Hungarian, his maternal grandfather a Jew from Salonika) is a better option for Macedonia.

Endnotes:
1 Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn assessment on the term ‘integration capacity’ is based on three components: Institutional, EU policy impact and EU budget
2 French contenders set for run-off, BBC News Europe, April 23, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6582479.stm
3 Tous les programmes des candidats à la présidentielle 2007, Le Monde, March 16, 2007 http://www.lemonde.fr/web/articleinteractif/0,410@2-823448,49-822922@45-3054,0.html
4 Europe : le programme des candidats, Le Monde, March 13, 2007
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/articleinteractif/0,410@2-823448,49-895888@45-3371,0.html
5 Europe : le programme des candidats, Le Monde, March 13, 2007
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/articleinteractif/0,410@2-823448,49-895888,0.html
6 Tous les programmes des candidats à la présidentielle 2007, Le Monde, March 16, 2007 http://www.lemonde.fr/web/articleinteractif/0,410@2-823448,49-822922@45-3053,0.html

More progress needed by the Republic of Macedonia

2007-04-25T22:13:00.000+02:00

"We need to see a convincing track record of reforms on the ground", including police reforms and the fight against corruption and organised crime, said European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn when he met Gabriela Konevska-Trajkovska, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Integration of the Republic of Macedonia in Brussels on April 16. The Commissioner described the talks as friendly and constructive, and he re-confirmed the EU perspective for the country.
"There is a need to improve the political climate in the country, and to demonstrate a clear commitment to the Ohrid framework agreement", said Rehn. He insisted that developing understanding and dialogue between the government and the opposition is essential to ensure the proper functioning and stability of key institutions. "I encourage all parties to make further efforts to find compromises, to walk the last mile, so that this political dialogue which has been intensified in last couple of days will lead to concrete results and facilitate speedy adoption of laws and reforms of the judiciary, police and public administration".
He added that the EU's Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance made provision for a qualitative and quantitative increase in support for the Republic of Macedonia, so it was important that the country implemented the appropriate national mechanisms correctly. Preparation had got off to a good start, but administrative capacity needed reinforcing to permit decentralised financial management, he said. It was important too that recent changes in the country's Secretariat for European Affairs should have "no negative ramifications".
Gabriela Konevska-Trajkovska confirmed that progress on the EU agenda was a high priority for her government, and the recently-agreed National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis envisaged full harmonisation with EU rules by 2010. She said there was wide national support for accession and for regional cooperation. The reorganisation of the Secretariat for European Affairs was aimed, said the Deputy Prime Minister, at "providing the best structure for the mid-term".

European Citizens´Consultations

2007-03-29T14:08:00.000+02:00

Making your voice heard

Citizens’ Perspectives on the Future of Europe adopted in 27 EU member states

“Ever since the constitution was voted against in the Netherlands and France, we have gradually understood that the EU is a top-level-project. A project that is not supported by the citizens will not survive. That is why the European Citizens’ Consultation process is so important,” said Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy, in a video conversation with the participants of the Swedish citizens’ consultation last weekend.

Parallel to the celebrations of 50 years of the Treaty of Rome, the weekend of 24-25 March saw the fourth and final round of the European Citizens’ Consultations with national consultations in 10 EU-Member States. Over the last two months about 1500 randomly selected citizens from all EU member states reflecting the diversity of the European population came together in 27 national consultations on the occasion of the first-ever European Citizens’ Consultations. They all dedicated a whole weekend to debating the future of Europe, thereby giving voice to their visions and expectations and exchanging views with their European fellow citizens gathered in similar consultations at the same time. Energy & environment, family & social welfare, the EU’s role in the world & immigration were at the heart of discussion. These topics were chosen in October 2006 by 200 randomly selected European citizens convened in an Agenda-Setting Event in Brussels.

National and European decision-makers, such as the EU-Commissioner for Health Markos Kyprianou, Dr. Michael Frendo (Maltese Minister of Foreign Affairs), Cecilia Malmström (Swedish Minister for EU Affairs), Barbara Prammer (President of the Austrian Parliament) and various Members of the European Parliament attended the final round of national consultations to collect fresh impressions from the vivid discussions and to be handed over the results of the deliberations. They welcomed the European Citizens’ Consultations as a successful model for an EU lending an ear to its citizens’ expectations. Minister Malmström stressed during the handing-over ceremony of the Swedish Perspectives on the Future of Europe: "We will read this with great interest, and hopefully discuss it further at the next meeting with all the EU-ministers in mid May. There are much more spirited ideas in this report than at most of the meetings I attend to." Citizens at the Cypriot consultations suggested to carry on with citizens consultations on EU issues. EU-Commissioner Markos Kyprianou promised that he will convey this request to Brussels.

Occasionally, citizens were at first sceptic whether their knowledge on European politics would be sufficient for debating such big questions as the EU's role in the world, but they soon lost their reserve and engaged in lively discussions. “In the beginning, when I was invited, I was quite sceptical about the event, but once here, I changed my opinion seeing that people around me were willing to exchange opinions and make changes,” confesses Mindaugas Lataitis, a 22-year-old Lithuanian working in advertising. For most of the participants, the citizens’ consultations were a unique experience. “Being here is a pleasure and a privilege: I feel part of an important project for our children and I believe this is a useful contribution towards their future,” said one participant from Italy. Through the interconnection of simultaneous national consultations, a truly European discussion across the borders of geography and language emerged. And Christos Michailidis, 45, from Pafos in Cyprus gave voice to what many participants wished: “This is something that will bring results and I wish to be taken into account because this concerns the future of us all. I hope we can live in a united Europe which will show in practice its interest in its citizens.”

But the work is not all done: On 9-10 May one participant from each of the 27 national consultations will come to Brussels and take the challenge to synthesize the results from the national consultations into the ‘European Citizens’ Perspectives on the Future of Europe’. These will in a solemn ceremony be handed over to representatives of the European institutions.

For more information on the Final Event, the projects’ methodology and on the outcomes of the citizens’ consultations go to our website:
www.european-citizens-consultations.eu.

EDF & CEP-CMAF European Seminar on Social Economy and Equal Opportunities

2007-03-27T15:51:00.000+02:00

The European Standing Conference of Co-operatives, Mutualities, Associations and Foundations (CEP-CMAF) and the European Disability Forum (EDF), with the support of the Social Economy Category of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), are organising a European Seminar on Social Economy and Equal Opportunities on April 17th 2007 from 10.00 to 17.00 at the Seminar on Social Economy and Equal Opportunities on April 17th 2007 from 10.00 to 17.00 at the EESC headquarters in Brussels. The seminar will explore the role of Social Economy in the areas of non-discrimination and equal opportunities with a particular focus on disability.

The seminar is being held within the context of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, which aims to give momentum to the fight against discrimination and the promotion of equal opportunities in the EU by stimulating the debate and exchange of good practice; raising public awareness of citizens’ rights in these areas; celebrating diversity as an asset for the EU; and promoting equal opportunities for all in economic, social, political and cultural life.
In this context, the seminar will convene representatives from Social Economy organisations, European institutions and other key public and private stakeholders to:

European institutions and other key public and private stakeholders to:

Discuss how Social Economy organisations and enterprises can contribute to the fight against discrimination, with special emphasis on disability;
Discuss with policy-makers how the Social Economy sector can contribute to maximising the impact of the European Year and its follow-up;
Learn about EU programmes and funds available;
Identify examples of best practices within the sector that can be replicated and improved further not only by Social Economy organisations but also by the wider non-profit sector as well as by for-profit entities; and
Establish a dialogue between all relevant stakeholders and identify possible synergies and partnerships.
The event will also be used to present a practical Guide on disability mainstreaming that the CEPCMAF Disability Working Group has jointly developed with the European Disability Forum (EDF) to mark the European Year. Based on the example of Social Economy, the Guide is aimed at demonstrating that all organisations, whether active in the disability field or not, can include people with disabilities and disability issues in their organisations and activities.

Simultaneous interpretation in English, French, German, Spanish and Polish, will be provided at the seminar. Registration is free of charge but places are limited; registrations will be accepted on a “first come, first served” basis.

If you are interested in taking part in this seminar, please register with the CEP-CMAF by April 1st 2007 by e-mail: info@cepcmaf.org or by fax: +32.2.512.3265.
Further details about the event will be made available shortly.

The Summer School for Young Professionals 2007

2007-03-23T11:59:00.000+01:00

The Summer School for Young Professionals 2007– Introduction into Security Policy, with the topic GLOBAL SECURITY CHALLENGES OF TODAY as the main theme, takes place on 30 June – 8 July 2007 at the National Academy of Defence (NAD) in Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia. It is a weeklong forum that is focused on the current issues of the security policy - the structure of the teaching is aimed to provide the students with the basics of the security policy background, including main actors of the security policy in Europe, main security threats of today such as terrorism, proliferation of WMD, illegal migration and those regions of the world that are posing risks to the global security.
One of the main objectives of this international summer school is the preparation of young professionals – future leaders from below mentioned regions – to act in the foreign and security policy. Interactive discussions and lectures led by top speakers from various international and Slovak organizations will therefore focus on open exchange of ideas and interaction of participants from different backgrounds. There will be many side activities besides the classroom lectures and discussions – dynamic workshops, trip to nearby Tatra mountains and Liptovsky Mikulas and others. Summer school will finish with the simulation of UN Security Council crisis meeting, in which the participants will play the roles of international diplomats.
Summer school is intended for master and doctoral level students of political science and/or international relations who are interested in the foreign and security policy issues. Around 35 students will be from Central Europe, South Eastern Europe and Ukraine.
The teaching language of the summer school will be English. At the end of the school, students will receive certificate of course attendance issued by the NAD.
This is the second year that Centre for European and North Atlantic Affairs (CENAA), together with its partner NAD, with the financial support given by NATO PDD, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and in cooperation with the Lower Silesian Centre of Strategy Studies, the International Institute of Political Science of Masaryk University (IIPS) and the Szeged Centre for Security Policy is organizing this summer school in Slovakia. If you would like to find out more about the last year’s summer school go to the link SSYP 2006.
http://www.cenaa.org/index.php?w=2&y=2007&p1=26&s=BASIC%20INFO

ACADEMIC NETWORK FOR LEGAL STUDIES ON IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM IN EUROPE

2007-03-22T19:25:00.000+01:00

ACADEMIC NETWORK FOR LEGAL STUDIES ON IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM IN EUROPE
A NETWORK FOUNDED WITH THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE ODYSSEUS PROGRAMME OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
RESEAU ACADEMIQUE D’ETUDES JURIDIQUES SUR L’IMMIGRATION ET L’ASILE EN EUROPE
UN RESEAU FONDE AVEC LE SOUTIEN FINANCIER DU PROGRAMME ODYSSEUS DE LA COMMISSION EUROPEENNE
______________________________________
EUROPEAN SUMMER SCHOOL
7th EDITION
European Union Law and Policy on Immigration and Asylum
COURS D’ETE EUROPEEN
7ème EDITION
Droit et politique de l’immigration et de l’asile de l’Union européenne
______________________________________
2 - 13 JULY / JUILLET 2007
UNIVERSITE LIBRE DE BRUXELLES
______________________________________
A Network coordinated by the Institute for European Studies
Un Réseau coordonné par l'Institut d'Etudes européennes
of the / de l’Université Libre de Bruxelles
and composed of academics of the following institutions/
et composé d’académiques des institutions suivantes:
Université catholique de Louvain (B), Universidade Autonoma de Lisboa (P), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (P), Universität Salzburg (A), Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (NL), University of Bristol (UK), Universitaet Konstanz (D), Universitaet Göttingen (D), Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid (E), Università degli Studi di Milano (I), Université de Paris-Sud (F), Université de Pau et des pays de l’Adour (F), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL), Aarhus Universitet (DK), Umeå Universitet(S), Lunds Universitet (S), Åbo Akademi (FIN), University of Turku (FIN), Eötvös Loránd University (HU), University of Silesia (PL), Mykolas Romeris University (LT), University of Ljubljana (SLO), University of Latvia (LV)

PRESENTATION
The aim of the Summer School is to provide its participants with a comprehensive understanding of the immigration and asylum policy of the European Union from a legal point of view. The programme is organised by the «Academic Network for Legal Studies on Immigration and Asylum in Europe», founded with the financial support of the Odysseus Programme of the European Commission and co-ordinated by the Institute for European Studies of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. The course provides both the opportunity to live in a unique European environment, as Brussels hosts numerous European and international organisations and offer diverse possibilities of contacts, and to take part in an intellectually stimulating experience in groups of several tens of participants specialised in the area of asylum and immigration from all over Europe. The classes are conducted by academics from the universities co-operating in the Network, which is represented in 21 Member States of the European Union and by high ranking officials from international organisations, particularly the European Commission. Each class is in principle given separately in French and in English.
L'objectif du cours d'été est de fournir aux participants une connaissance globale de la politique d'immigration et d'asile de l’Union européenne d’un point de vue juridique. Le programme est organisé par le « Réseau académique d'études juridiques sur l'immigration et l'asile en Europe » fondé avec le soutien financier du programme Odysseus de la Commission européenne et coordonné par l'Institut d'Etudes Européennes de l’Université Libre de Bruxelles. Les cours offrent à la fois l'opportunité d’évoluer dans un environnement européen unique, Bruxelles abritant de nombreuses organisations européennes et internationales offrant de multiples possibilités de contacts, et de vivre une expérience intellectuelle stimulante dans un groupe de plusieurs dizaines de personnes spécialisées dans le domaine de l’immigration ou de l’asile provenant de toute l’Union européenne. Les cours sont dispensés par les professeurs issus des universités participant au Réseau qui est représenté dans 21 Etats Membres de l’Union européenne ainsi que par des professionnels de haut niveau issus d'organisations internationales, en particulier la Commission européenne. Les cours sont en principe donnés séparément en anglais d’un côté et en français de l’autre.

PROGRAMME
PART ONE / PREMIERE PARTIE
2nd – 6th July / 2 au 6 juillet
General Introduction - Introduction générale
OPENING LECTURE - LEÇON INAUGURALE
1. General introduction to Eu Policy on Immigration and Asylum
Introduction à la politique européenne de l’immigration et de l’asile
2. Future of Free Movement of EU Citizens
L’avenir de la libre circulation des citoyens de l’U.E.
3. Institutional Framework of the European Immigration and Asylum Policy
Le cadre institutionnel de la politique européenne d’immigration et d’asile
4. Control of the external Borders
Le contrôle des frontières extérieures
5. European Visa Policy
La politique européenne des visas
6. Enlargement of the EU and the European Immigration and Asylum Policy
L’élargissement de l’U.E. et la politique européenne d’immigration et d’asile
7. Implications of Human Rights for Immigration and Asylum
Implications des droits de l'homme pour l'immigration et l'asile

PART TWO – DEUXIEME PARTIE
9th – 13th July / 9 – 13 juillet
Specialised Lectures – Cours spécialisés
1. Immigration for purposes of work or studies
L’immigration aux fins d'emploi ou d'études
2. Family Reunification
Regroupement familial
3. Status of Third Country Nationals, Non-discrimination and Integration
Le statut des ressortissants de pays tiers, la non-discrimination et l'intégration
4. Regularisations of Illegal Immigrants
Régularisations des immigrants illégaux
5. Fighting Illegal Immigration
La lutte contre l'immigration illégale
6. Schengen Information System
Le Système d’Information Schengen
7. External Relations and Immigration and Asylum Policy
Relations extérieures et politique d'immigration et d'asile
8. Return and Readmission Policy
La politique de retour et de réadmission
9. The European definition of the Concepts of Refugee and of Subsidiary Protection
La définition européenne des notions de réfugié et de protection subsidiaire
10. Practical exercises – Exercices pratiques
11. Status of Asylum seekers and of protected persons
Statuts des demandeurs d’asile et des personnes protégées
12. Distribution of Refugees between Members States (Dublin, EURODAC, European Refugee Fund)
Répartition des réfugiés entre Etats Membres (Dublin, EURODAC et Fonds Européen des réfugiés)
13. Asylum Procedure
La procédure d'asile
14. The position of UNHCR on the European asylum policy
La position du UNHCR sur la politique européenne d'asile
EVALUATION
Students will have the opportunity to evaluate in writing the quality of the courses and practical exercises, as well as the organisation of the Summer School, at the end of each week. The organisers commit themselves to take into account these evaluations, and to pass them on to the lecturers concerned.
La qualité des cours et travaux pratiques ainsi que l’organisation du cours d’été seront évalués par écrit par les étudiants à la fin de chaque semaine. Les organisateurs s’engagent à tenir compte des résultats et à les transmettre aux enseignants

TEACHING STAFF - CORPS ENSEIGNANT
• Prof. Emmanuel AUBIN (Université de Poitiers, France)
• Prof. Ulrike BRANDL (Universität Salzburg, Austria/Autriche)
• Dr. Emmanuelle BRIBOSIA (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium/Belgique)
• Prof. Jean-Yves CARLIER (Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium/Belgique)
• Prof. Ryszard CHOLEWINSKI (IOM Geneva)
• Laurence DEBAUCHE, Université Libre de Bruxelles
• Prof. Philippe DE BRUYCKER (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium/Belgique)
• Prof. Bart DE SCHUTTER, (Vrij Universiteit Brussel, Belgium/Belgique)
• Prof. Constança DIAS URBANO DE SOUSA (Universidade Autonoma de Lisboa, Portugal)
• Prof. Kees GROENENDIJK (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, Netherlands/Pays-Bas)
• Prof. Elspeth GUILD (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, Netherlands/Pays-Bas)
• Prof. Kay HAILBRONNER (Universitaet Konstanz, Germany/Allemagne)
• John HANDOLL, (Avocat/Lawyer, Ireland/Irlande)
• Dr. Mariona ILLAMOLA DAUSA (Universidat de Girona, Spain/Espagne)
• Prof. Lyra JAKULEVICIENE (Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania/Lithuanie)
• Nathalie JOUANT (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium/Belgique)
• Prof. François JULIEN-LAFERRIERE (Université de Paris-Sud, France)
• Prof. Kristine KRUMA, (University of Latvia , Latvia, Lettonie)
• Prof. Henri LABAYLE (Université de Pau et des pays de l'Adour, France)
• Prof. Barbara MIKOLAJCZYK (University of Silesia, Poland/Pologne)
• Prof. Boldizsar NAGY (Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary/Hongrie)
• Yves PASCOUAU (Université de Pau et des pays de l'Adour, France)
• Prof. Steve PEERS (University of Essex, United Kingdom/Royaume-Uni)
• Prof. Nuno PICARRA, (Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal)
• Maitena POELEMANS (Université de Pau et des pays de l'Adour, France)
• Dr. Sylvie SAROLEA, (Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium/Belgique)
• Prof. Achilles SKORDAS (University of Bristol, UK/RU)
• Prof. Thomas SPIJKERBOER (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands/Pays-Bas)
• Prof. Jens VESTED-HANSEN, (Juridisk Institut Aarhus, Denmark/Danemark)
• Dr. Vigdis VEVSTAD, (Independent Consultant, Norway/Norvège)

With the collaboration of high ranking officials from the European Union and of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Avec la collaboration de hauts fonctionnaires de l’Union européenne et du Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les Réfugiés.
Academic Coordination académique
General Coordinator – Coordination générale
Philippe DE BRUYCKER, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Groupe francophone: à attribuer
English speaking group: to be appointed
Administrative Coordination administrative
Nicole BOSMANS, Université Libre de Bruxelles

TIMETABLE AND SCHEDULE - CALENDRIER ET HORAIRES
Following the opening lecture, the programme of the first part covers 16 hours of lectures or practical exercices. The programme of the second part covers 28 hours. Each day comprises 4 hours of lectures or practical exercises, presented in modules of 2 hours, with a break of 30 minutes in between. In order to enable participants in full-time employment to attend the classes, these will mainly be held each day between 2.00 and 6.30 p.m.
La première partie comporte, outre la leçon inaugurale, un programme de 16 heures de cours ou d’exercices pratiques et la seconde partie un programme de 28 heures. Chaque jour comporte en principe 2 cours ou travaux pratiques de 2 heures avec une pause d’une demi-heure entre chaque séance. Afin de faciliter la participation de personnes déjà engagées dans la vie professionnelle intéressées par la possibilité de suivre les cours, ceux-ci se donnent principalement l’après-midi entre 14h00 et 18h30.

Participants arrive
Monday 2 July
Lundi 2 juillet
Arrivée des participants
Welcome
Summer School Presentation
Guided Tour of
the University
1st Lesson
Opening Lecture
Drinks
From/A partir de 9:30
11:30 – 12:30
12:30 – 13:00
15:00 – 17:00
17:30
19:00
Accueil
Présentation du cours d’été
Visite de l'Université
1èr cours
Leçon inaugurale
Cocktail
Course concludes
Friday 13 July
Vendredi 13 juillet
Fin des cours

Visit to EU Institutions - Visite d'Institutions de l'U.E.
In addition to the lectures, the programme includes a visit to the European Parliament and evening debates on the European Immigration and Asylum Policy from the point of view of evolutions in the world.
En plus des cours, le programme inclut une visite du Parlement européen et des soirées débat sur la politique européenne d'immigration et d'asile au regard des évolutions mondiales.
Teaching Orientation - Orientation des enseignements
The classes which are of legal character offer both theoretical and practical elements, and tackle the most recent developments in the field. The latest work by the European Commission, the Council and Parliament are integrated into the teaching, thanks in particular to the participation of European officials as lecturers at the summer school. Each participant will receive an extensive up-to-date documentation pack.
Les cours qui sont d’ordre juridique comprennent une dimension à la fois théorique et pratique. Ils sont en prise directe avec l’actualité la plus récente. Les plus récents travaux de la Commission européenne, du Conseil des ministres et du Parlement européen sont intégrés aux enseignements, notamment grâce à la participation de fonctionnaires européens comme conférenciers dans le cadre des cours. Une importante documentation mise à jour sera remise à chacun des participants.

Language – Langues
Applicants must be fluent in either English or French. The classes will generally be taught separately in English and in French, so that each of the participants may follow the programme in either of these two languages, in accordance with the choice originally indicated, with the exception of courses given by high ranking officials of the European Union which might be exclusively taught in English.
Les candidats doivent avoir une bonne compréhension de l’anglais ou du français. Les enseignements seront en principe dispensés séparément en français et en anglais de manière à permettre aux étudiants de suivre les cours dans une de ces deux langues selon le choix qu’ils auront indiqué au départ, sauf pour les cours dispensés par les hauts fonctionnaires de l’Union européenne qui peuvent éventuellement ne l’être qu’en anglais.
Facilities – Facilités
The participants will have access to the various University facilities (libraries, cafeterias, medical and sports facilities, etc.). Entertaining activities will be also organised during the weekend. Those participants requiring accommodation during their stay in Brussels should state this on their application form in order to receive further information. Accommodation in bedrooms for 2 people with breakfast can be provided to a limited number of participants at reasonable price (+/- 300€ by person).
Les participants auront accès aux différents services de l'Université (bibliothèques, restaurants universitaires, service médical, installations sportives,…). Des activités récréatives seront également organisées durant le week-end. Les participants qui ont besoin d'un logement lors de leur séjour sont priés de le signaler dans leur formulaire d'inscription et recevront les informations suivant les possibilités. Un nombre limité de logements en chambre de 2 personnes avec petit déjeuner sont disponibles à des prix raisonnable (+/-300 € par personne).
Certificate - Certificat
Participants who have followed the programme assiduously throughout the two weeks will receive a certificate of attendance specifying each of the courses followed. The programme will not demand any written work or exams, but some prior readings are recommended.
Les participants qui ont effectivement suivi l’ensemble des cours pendant les deux semaines recevront un certificat d'assiduité précisant le contenu des cours. Le programme n’impose ni travaux écrits, ni examens, mais certaines lectures préalables sont recommandées.
CONTACT
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Réseau ODYSSEUS Network
39, Roosevelt Avenue - C.P. 172
B -1050 Brussels - Belgium
Tél.: 00 32 (0)2 650 49 96 (afternoon/ après-midi)
Fax: 00 32 (0)2 650 25 11
Email: odysseus@ulb.ac.be
Website: http://www.ulb.ac.be/assoc/odysseus

Admissions Requirements - Conditions d’admission
In order to meet the legal prerequisites of the course, applicants must have some legal background. They must have either completed a University degree (BA or equivalent) in Law, Political Science or International Relations (graduates of other disciplines will be considered depending on the courses they have followed), or have professional experience in a relevant field, for example as a civil servant, NGO assistant,… Interested persons should complete the application form available on the internet. Should the Network be overwhelmed with applications, the forms will be submitted for advice to the Network member from the country of origin of the candidate. Successful candidates will have to submit either a copy of their University diploma, or acertificate, before the start of the programme.
Afin de pouvoir suivre des enseignements techniques au point de vue juridique, les candidats doivent avoir une certaine formation juridique. Pour être admissibles, les candidats doivent avoir un diplôme universitaire (Baccalauréat ou équivalent) en droit, sciences politiques ou relations internationales (d’autres disciplines seront prises en considération en fonction du programme d’enseignement suivi) ou une pratique professionnelle dans le domaine en tant que fonctionnaire, animateur d’une ONG,….. Les personnes intéressées sont priées de remplir le formulaire de candidature disponible sur le site Internet du réseau. Une sélection sur mérites sera effectuée en cas d’afflux de candidatures qui seront éventuellement soumises pour avis au membre du Réseau de l’Etat dont elles proviennent. Les candidats sélectionnés devront produire une copie de leur dernier diplôme ou une attestation avant le début des cours.
Subscription - Souscription
The applicants to the Summer school will pay in advance 100€ to hand in their file on the same bank account as the one mentioned for subscription fees. This sum will be lost if the applicant backs out or reimbursed if the applicant was not selected by the Network. Only applications with a payment of registration fee of 100€ will be considered.
Les candidats au cours d’été verseront à titre d’avance une somme de 100€ pour introduire leur dossier sur le même compte bancaire que celui mentionné pour les frais d’inscription. Cette somme sera perdue si le candidat se désiste ou remboursée si le candidat n'était pas sélectionné par le réseau. Seules les candidatures dont les frais de souscription de 100€ auront été payés seront prises en considération.
.

Registration - Inscription
The participants are kindly requested to subscribe by using the registration form available on the website of the Network (http://www.ulb.ac.be/assoc/odysseus ).
The programme does not receive any financial support, and thus finances itself through the course fees. The total tuition fees for the program are 600 € for students, 700€ for NGO's and PhDs and 800 € for those in full-time employment. This covers the classes, the document pack, the visits receptions and entertaining activities, excluding food and accommodation. The Network will not be able to provide any grants covering tuition fees. The closing date for applications has been set for 1st June 2007. Interested candidates are strongly advised to submit their applications as soon as possible, given in view of the limited number of places available. Late applications will be considered as far as possible, depending on the number of places left on the course and the availability of accommodation.
Les participants sont priés de s’inscrire en remplissant le formulaire disponible sur le site internet du Réseau (http://www.ulb.ac.be/assoc/odysseus ).
Le programme ne bénéficie d’aucune subvention et est auto-financé par les frais d’inscription des participants. Les frais d'inscription pour le programme s'élèvent au total à 600 € pour les étudiants, 700€ pour les ONGs et les doctorants et 800 € pour les professionnels. Cette somme couvre les cours, la documentation, les visites, les réceptions et les activités récréatives, à l’exception du logement et de la nourriture. Le Réseau ne peut octroyer aucune bourse couvrant les frais de participation au cours d’été. La date de clôture des inscriptions est fixée au 1er juin 2007. Il est vivement conseillé aux personnes intéressées de s’inscrire le plus rapidement possible en raison du nombre limité de places disponibles. Les demandes d'inscription postérieures à la date de clôture seront satisfaites dans la mesure du possible en fonction du nombre de participants déjà inscrits et des logements disponibles.
Participants are asked to pay by bank transfer to account number 001-2122389-08,
Fortis Bank, Pesage Branch, 16 Avenue du Pesage, 1050 Brussels, Belgium,
BIC code GEBABEBB
IBAN: BE63001212238908
clearly indicating reference "2007 Summer School" and "their name".
Proof of payment must be produced at the latest on arrival in Brussels. In exceptional cases payment in cash on arrival in Brussels will be accepted. The bank fees charged to the Network at payment of your course fees might be reclaimed from you in cash at arrival in Brussels.
Les participants sont priés de payer par virement bancaire sur le compte 001-2122389-08
de la Fortis Banque, Agence Pesage, 16, Avenue du Pesage, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgique,
Code BIC: GEBABEBB,
IBAN : BE63001212238908
avec comme référence « leur nom » et la mention "cours d'été 2007".
La preuve de paiement doit impérativement être produite au plus tard à l’arrivée à Bruxelles. Les paiements sur place en argent liquide seront acceptés à titre exceptionnel à l’arrivée à Bruxelles. Le remboursement des frais bancaires imputés au réseau lors du paiement de votre inscription pourra vous être réclamé en liquide à votre arrivée.

Master Programme in European Integration and Regionalism

2007-03-16T09:43:00.000+01:00

The CORE TOPICS are:
- Module I: European Integration (2 residential weeks in September 2007, Bolzano, Italy)
- Module II: EU Law (2 residential weeks in November 2007, Luxembourg)
- Module III: Federalism and Regionalism (2 residential weeks in January 2008, Graz, Austria)
- Module IV:Regional and Social Cohesion (2 residential weeks in April 2008, Barcelona, Spain)
- Module V: Minorities and Diversity (2 residential weeks in June 2008, Bolzano, Italy)

Applications can be made either to the full Programme or to single modules. In the latter case attendance of a module will lead to the award of a certificate.

DEGREE
Successful participants of the Master Programme will be awarded by the University of Graz the academic degree of a "Master of European Studies" (M.E.S.).

TARGET GROUP
- Civil servants from local, regional or national administrations who are dealing with EU affairs and therefore require both theoretical and practical training in EU and regional issues;
- Lawyers, economists, social scientists and others in the employment of non-governmental organisations wishing to enhance inter-disciplinary skills and to specialise on different aspects of European integration, regionalism and diversity;
- Graduate students wishing to acquire a more in-depth understanding of EU and regional issues, beneficial for a future career in the academia or even practice-orientated work.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION
The deadline for application for the academic year 2007/2008 is 1 June 2007.

START OF THE PROGRAMME
The first module of the academic year 2007/2008 will start on 3 September 2007.

Further information about the Programme as well as the application forms can be found at http://www.eurac.edu/meir

We would appreciate if you would disseminate information about the Masters Programme to anyone who may be interested in participating.

CONTACT European Academy of Bolzano Minorities and AutonomiesDrususallee/Viale Druso 1 I-39100 Bozen/Bolzano, Italy Phone: +39 0471 055 223
Fax: +39 0471 055 299 email: meir@eurac.edu

Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn in a visit to Skopje

2007-02-10T18:46:00.000+01:00

On Thursday, 08 February 2007, Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn will pay a one-day visit to the Republic of Macedonia.
During his stay, Commissioner Rehn will meet with: President Branko Crvenkovski, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, other members of the Government: Deputy Prime Minister Gabriela Konevska, Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Stavreski, Deputy Prime Minister Imer Selmani and Foreign Affairs Minister Milososki, Parliament Speaker Ljubisha Georgievski and the leaders of the main political parties.
Speech by Commissioner Olli REHN, Skopje, 8 February 2007
Details here

Повторно ќе ни’ отидат по ѓаволите уште 4 години!!!

2007-01-31T19:48:00.000+01:00

Текстот е превземен од: http://evropa.blog.com/

Како што и претпоставував, Никола Груевски не се договараше со ДУИ, туку само глумеше, оти така препорачаа релевантните фактори. Сега, наводно, демек, „ние се договаравме, ама ДУИ треба да се извини“.
Арно ама, со не вклучувањето на ДУИ во новата влада, Албанците се почуствуваа како пред 2001 година. Значи, наместо да одиме напред, повторно ќе се враќаме назад. А не треба да се заборави дека Албанците тоа го повторуваа (дека не се задоволни) уште од 1991 година.
Таман помисливме дека ги затворивме етничките прашања, Груевски на многу елегантен начин не’ враќа назад. Ако сега Албанците велат дека не се задоволни од тоа што не се почитува нивниот глас, сосема е можно да се повтори 2001 година. А тогаш повторно ќе ни’ бидат криви Албанците, странците, Американците, нашите „предавници“ и др.
BTW, непочитувањето на нивниот глас не е добро за интра-етничката демократија. Значи, нема потреба да се натпреваруваат меѓу себе, кога никој и така не го почитува нивниот глас.
Груевски си даде автогол. Наместо економија, и во наредниот период етничките теми ќе надвладеат.
Значи, нема ништо од најавениот препород (во 100 чекори) во економијата, производството, просперитетот, науката, културата, земјоделството и др.
Уште пред да се формира новата Влада, со трилион постотна сигурност се знае дека нема ништо добро да ни’ се случи.
Повторно македонскиот народ е под хипотека на недокажаните дечурлани, кои уживаат во хаос, анархија и криминал. Видовме што ни’ се случи со Црвенковски и Георгиевски, па сега ќе не’ спасат (!?) Груевски, Милошоски и другите од детскиот „хор“ на ДПМНЕ.
Всушност, не е и за чудење. ДПА цело време со своите предлози за федерализација му е подобар партнер на ДПМНЕ. Зошто? Па и оваа партија предлагаше размена на територии, бугаризација на историјата, поделба „кај Групчин“ и сл. Затоа си одговараат.
Нема ништо од економскиот бум на Груевски.
Изгледа џабе си го отворив блогов, http://evropa.blog.com/ оти во наредниот период нема да превладуваат европски теми во Македонија, туку, повторно, етнички проблеми.
Е, браво, Груевски, што не’ зезна и што ќе ни’ го упропастиш животот уште 4 години.

Invest in Macedonia - New Business Heaven in Europe - campaign to promote Macedonian business potentials

2007-01-25T10:23:00.000+01:00

Invest in Macedonia - New Business Heaven in Europe is the name of the campaign, which the Government launched on January 19 in order to promote Macedonian business potentials.
- The campaign for Macedonia's promotion as an investment destination will be implemented until March 1, by 50 leading newspapers in 35 countries, out of which 24 will be EU countries, in 24 languages. Total circulation of these printed media is over 9 million, whereas their readership surpasses 30 million, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski told journalist at Wednesday's news conference. Macedonia 's opportunities will be presented on 20 on-line editions of the aforementioned newspapers.
The printed media include Financial Times, New York Times, Economist, Wall Street Journal, Herald Tribune, Banker, Figaro, Die Presse, Australien, Sunday Telegraph, 24 Hours, Irish Times...
According to Gruevski, Macedonia offered investors the following advantages: lowest profit tax of 10%, lowest income tax of 10%, 0% tax of reinvested profit, prompt registration of companies within 3 days, 370 euros gross average salary, free access to large market of 650 million consumers, macroeconomic stability with 3,1% inflation, great infrastructure and EU and NATO membership candidate.
- Basicly, this is a pre-campaign, which is expected to encourage investors to think about investing in Macedonia , but it will have positive effect on county's overall image, said Gruevski.
The Government, added Gruevski, has no irrealistic exoectations. - We don't believe that an investment boom will happen over night, because the first tangible results will be occur after certain period of time. This is only the begining of a permanent campaign, which Macedonia need for a long time, he said.

Europe 2020: For a Plural Union

2007-01-16T12:55:00.000+01:00

1. The situation today: the Union as Promise

a) Take-off

b) Bogged down

2. Pressures for enlargement

a) Broader powers

b) Territorial enlargement

3. Choosing a model for Europe in 2020

a) A federal Union

b) A Union of sovereign states

c) A vague Union

d) An Atlantic Union

e) A plural Union

4. Programme for a plural Union

a) The first IGC (1999-2000)

b) The second IGC (2000-2003)

c) Overall budgetary planning (1999-2010)

d) A new approach to managing enlargement (1999-2010)

e) Aims of a plural Union (1999-2015)

5. Summary of main recommendations: first reform, then enlarge

"I wouldn't pay good money to belong to a club that would have people like me for a member."

Marx (Groucho)

Barring major geopolitical or ideological upheavals, the European Union will have at least 35 members in 2020.

By that time, it will cover the whole of Europe, right up to the borders of Russia and Turkey, and it will still be one of the planet's foremost, if not the premier, economic powerhouse. But unless something is done to change the course of things, it will be nothing more than a single market bereft of political identity, having dismantled most of the instruments of its member states’ sovereignty without replacing them by others.

Having failed to update its philosophy and the methods whereby it runs itself, it will have become unmanageable, practically incapable of formulating policy and influencing the affairs of the world, as is now of the case with the most ineffectual of the United Nations agencies.

The original aim of the founding fathers, namely to turn the continent into a unified and independent political and military entity, will thus have drifted definitively beyond our grasp. Moreover, the most essential "community acquis", from the single market to the euro, from the common agricultural policy to the trade policy, will little by little have been whittled away by the impossibility of getting 35 nations to agree on how to adapt them to the forthcoming social, geopolitical and technological upheavals.

* *

As long as the Union had only a reasonable number of members, enlargement did not entail any change in its nature. With 12 members, it was still possible to reach a consensus without being blocked by minority demands. With 15 members, meetings drag on and majorities become lost in the maze of contradictory minorities. Beyond that, paralysis is assured.

The threshold beyond which today’s institutions will seize up altogether is around 20 members, which will be achieved sometime in the region of 2007, or at any rate before 2010. By that time, we must either reform or perish.

* *

In a world of 9 billion inhabitants, where market globalisation and rapid technological change will have brought about far-reaching upheavals in the balance of power: between the market and politics to the benefit of the market, between nomads and sedentary people to the benefit of the nomads, between large groupings and small entities to the benefit of small rich entities, between legal organisations and criminal ones to the benefit of mafias, between rich and poor to the benefit of the powerful, it will have become harder and harder to keep human communities together, to get increasingly mobile (both physically and virtually) populations to live together. In such a world, the likeliest scenario is that the reign of the United States will continue, militarily at least.

The European Union will then be no more than a vague grouping of 40 countries and 400 million inhabitants, a vast, fast-growing zone. But the prevailing model will be individualistic and technological, economically precarious and politically resigned. At best there will be a common border police to protect the Union from the dangers on its marches (the Balkans in ruins, uncertainty in Russia, a Mediterranean in turmoil, and a proliferating black economy).

On this view, Europe will have vanished from the stage of History for want of the capacity to reform institutions designed for six countries, for want of the capacity to manage what ought to have been its strength, namely a growing population, territory, resources and skills.

Enlargement will have set the scene for a tremendous geopolitical realignment: Great Britain will have definitively joined America's sphere of influence; Germany will have carved out a vast hinterland to the east, from Poland to the Ukraine, acting as both master and supplier, facing a Russia that is strong once more and is perhaps even a threat, as it seeks to avenge slights suffered when the West refused it a part in its institutions.

Among the great continental powers, France will be the biggest loser, owing to the destruction of everything it had sought to achieve with Germany since the end of the Second World War.

Already, with the expansion from 12 to 15, its language and legal principles are less and less readily accepted by its partners, and its negotiating successes are less and less frequent.

Nothing could be further from its interests than a Europe weakened by an ill-planned, poorly-executed enlargement; and nothing could be less in keeping with its values than an ineffectual Union incapable of embodying its ancient universal ambitions. Meanwhile, France will have lost even the right to exercise the last remaining instruments that still guarantee its own sovereignty and identity.

The spread of market mechanisms and America’s power of attraction over its partners would sweep away any remaining autonomy in its foreign policy, its defence, its public services, its welfare system and its culture.

Many Europeans (in northern Europe, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and elsewhere) will be delighted to see the back of a project they never really liked. They had always viewed it as reflecting the nostalgic ambitions of an arrogant Brussels bureaucracy, inherited from the habits and obsessions of a decadent French administration.

These Europeans will rush helter-skelter into the arms of the United States in search of military protection from the Pentagon and financial support from Wall Street.

Some of them will then start talking seriously about breathing life into the economic dimension of the North Atlantic Charter, and of dovetailing the European Union into a global system of Atlantic co-operation wherein the rich West, threatened by the rest of the world, huddles together for protection.

Instead of conferring a military dimension on the European Union, they will end up giving an economic dimension to the Atlantic Alliance.

Technological progress, strengthening America's pivotal role, will serve as a justification for giving command of this Euro-Atlantic Union to America.

* *

Because of all this, the question of enlargement is the most fundamental issue of all for the future of the construction of Europe. If we leave it to be resolved within the frameworks and according to the procedures designed for earlier accessions to the Union, this alone will be sufficient to put an end to the European project.

* *

To prevent things from going this way, France could choose to do everything in its power to delay enlargement; it could propose intermediary solutions to candidate countries such as a confederation, an association, variable geometry solutions, new types of partnership, or very protracted negotiations.

But this attitude would be untenable in the long run: enlargement is inevitable because it is in everyone's interests. It is in the interests of the Union's members, in order to avoid chaos on their borders; it is in the interests of the candidate members, in order to stabilise their economies; and of the United States in order to shift the burden of reconstruction onto the Union.

If France makes no preparations to defend its interests, by the time enlargement has taken place it will have lost its influence in the institutions and the respect of the candidate countries. Consequently, in a sweeping and simultaneous gesture of continent-wide generosity and strategic cogency, it should announce shortly its intention to accept the inevitable enlargement of the European Union to 35 (or even 40, as we shall see) members, to promote enthusiastically what it can no longer avoid. And it should propose that the 15 reform their institutions in order to prepare for this.

This strategy calls for the formulation of a clear vision of the current situation, of possible scenarios, and the necessary changes, and persuading public opinion to share that vision. We must then prepare to circulate to France's partners a broad and comprehensive proposal for a new contract for the coming century, which I shall term here the Plural Union.

1. The situation today: the Union as Promise

a) Take-off

Europe has rarely appeared to be in better shape than it is today. As the world's second economic, military and technological power, it may even outdo its American rival in certain sectors of industry such as aeronautics or biotechnology. Countries are fighting to join it, its influence in the world is on the increase, and it finances two-thirds of world official development aid.

Its institutions have recently been consolidated by the creation of the euro, which is set to become the world's reserve currency. Its finances are sound, and it has put in place a seven-year budget agreement.

The recent Amsterdam Treaty has significantly improved the workings of the Union.

First by the introduction, in article 44 of the Treaty, of "enhanced co-operation", i.e. the right of certain member states to move forward together faster than the whole, in accordance with a qualified majority rule, votes being weighted in accordance with article 205 of the Treaty.

This Treaty also spells out the terms of incorporation of the Schengen agreements. It opens up new perspectives in the social sphere, recognising basic rules regarding night work, maximum working hours, paid holidays, implementation of the core labour rights laid down in the 1989 Social Chapter, and agreements on parental leave, fixed-term employment contracts and the European Works Council derived from the social chapter.

Similarly, the Amsterdam Treaty confirms the need for policy harmonisation on rules for admission of foreigners to the territory of the European Union.

It lays down a system for mutual recognition of other European countries' rules on visitors rights. It clearly states "That objective shall be achieved by preventing and combating crime, organised or otherwise, in particular terrorism, trafficking in persons and offences against children, illicit drug trafficking and illicit arms trafficking, corruption and fraud." Finally, it defines the aims of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

This treaty also increases the powers of the European Parliament by involving it in the key decisions of the Council of Ministers via the co-decision procedure, confirming its power to appoint and censure the Commission, and recognising its de facto power of veto over the Commission's directives and the budget.

Where foreign and defence policy are concerned, Europe's handling of the Kosovo affair marked its political coming of age. It was Europe that took the diplomatic initiative in the Rambouillet negotiations, obliging reluctant allies to use force. It forms the backbone of the Kfor and the provisional Kosovo administration.

The Europeans have also acted in concert to defend their interests at the WTO and in other major multilateral negotiations such as the conferences on climatic change at Kyoto and Buenos Aires.

Finally, the European Communities Court of Justice is gradually forging a body of community law directly applicable in the member states, overriding internal rules, and further enhancing the co-ordinating capacity of the Community authorities.

Altogether, never before has the Union appeared so full of promise, or better able to rise to the challenges awaiting it.

b) Bogged down

Behind the successes, however, lurk all the makings of a quicksand – as if its recent conquests were merely the last embers of a dying fire.

First, the Union's economy remains very fragile. There are still 16,030,000 jobless, at a time when unemployment is negative in many sectors in the United States. The new information economy has put down uneven roots in Europe, and the latter generally lags substantially behind the other side of the Atlantic, with the notable exception of Finland. The single currency threatens to increase pressure on wages and speed up regional concentration; more generally, it will pose a threat to the integrity of the continental – and particularly the French – social model.

In the face of these dangers, "social" Europe remains very patchy and lacking in ambition: there has never been any question of a European social legislation, a European social security, or common legislation on working time or pensions.

Moreover, Europe is still nowhere near having the means to exercise any real military influence. And, barring a vast programme of reform, there is no indication that things are likely to be otherwise at any time in the near future. During the Kosovo crisis, Europe lacked the necessary air power: the United States supplied eight-tenths, and France the bulk of the balance. If it had been necessary to send in ground troops, the coalition would have had to rely entirely on American troops transport aircraft and logistics.

Finally, the Community institutions are heading for paralysis. The Commission functions increasingly poorly. A proliferating bureaucracy annually churns out 2,000 documents, many of them obscure and inapplicable. There are too many directorates, and they are engaged in constant turf battles. The Commissioners are increasingly swayed by the thinking of their own country and do not work sufficiently as a team; and their individual responsibilities within the College of Commissioners are imprecise.

The Council of Ministers is split up into a profusion of sub-formations which are gradually losing their cohesion. It has become a simple talking shop, where each member airs his views. It no longer acts as a filter between the Commission and the European Council. It no longer takes the time to ponder major issues facing the Union. The duration of the rotating presidencies is too short. Its General Secretariat no longer has the intellectual capacity needed to prepare for its work. The co-ordinating bodies (General Affairs Council, Coreper) no longer fulfil their mission.

This is hardly surprising: as it has evolved via a succession of additions and through practice, the Treaty now prohibits rapid, effective decision-making, being the cause of the confusion of powers within the Union’s institutions and with those of the member states.

As the expression of the national executives, the Council remains the Union’s supreme legislative body. However, through its jurisprudence the Court of Justice has proclaimed itself the second-tier legislator, on grounds of "making up for the shortcomings of the Council." By playing on the divisions within the Council, the Commission frequently places the member states before a fait accompli, especially in international negotiations. Meanwhile, the European Parliament, backed by the Commission (which it has the power to censure), is broadening its field of competence to areas belonging within the strict domain of national sovereignty.

The result is an accumulation of conflicts of legitimacy between the Union’s institutions and those of member countries: the European Parliament is increasingly encroaching on the powers of the national parliaments, on the grounds that it embodies the popular will just as well as they do. The Commission, which is charged with embodying the "interests of Europe" and is accountable solely to the European Parliament, frequently clashes with the national governments (or the Council) because its field of competence is increasingly uncertain. The European Central Bank is battling national governments over the powers on foreign exchange policy granted to them by the Maastricht Treaty. Finally, by the powers it is arrogating to itself, the European Court of Justice is on a direct collision course with constitutional courts in the member states.

To all these threats of future malfunction, the Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties add further grave potential sources of incoherence: the Board of Governors of the ECB, which conducts monetary policy by simple, unweighted majority vote of the governors, without regard to the most populous and powerful nations; while "enhanced co-operation" may be made subject to the unanimous approval of the European Council, at the request of a single country not part of this co-operation. In other words, the Treaty prevents members that want to move ahead together faster from doing so without the consent of those that do not want to join them.

Other internal contradictions in the Amsterdam Treaty create true legal conundrums which will have to be unravelled in practice.

For example, the Treaty notes that European Parliament must merely be informed of foreign and security decisions made by the Council of Ministers, but that these are not subject to the former's authorisation. Yet at the same time it stipulates that foreign policy expenditures cannot be committed without a Parliamentary vote, since these are "non-obligatory expenditures." This is tantamount to making the whole of the Union’s foreign policy subject to Parliamentary approval.

Similarly, the protocol on subsidiarity appended to the Amsterdam Treaty is so complex and contradictory that it will inevitably give rise to conflicting interpretations and clashes of powers between Community and national authorities.

Finally, the Treaty of Amsterdam is incapable of preparing the Union for enlargement, because it fails to resolve the first two institutional problems enlargement will pose. These concern curbing the size of the Commission, and safeguarding the rights of the big countries in the Council. The Treaty was unable to decide between a democracy of nations (1 State, 1 vote) and a democracy of peoples (1 citizen, 1 vote).

It is hardly surprising, therefore, if the Union is currently incapable of considering its future, of setting a coherent strategy, or of making clear decisions. Whole swathes of the construction of Europe (immigration, development aid, research, taxation, innovation, major public works, and trade policy) are in a state of permanent paralysis. Europe’s intellectual and geopolitical project is tragically stalled. Increasingly, many member countries now prefer to organise certain highly strategic areas of co-operation outside the Union, via ad hoc forums such as Eureka for industrial co-operation, JACO for the six-power defence effort, and many other more recent programmes besides.

The Union is caught between the global market, which will lead to the forcible dismantling of most of the instruments of state control and virtually all public services, and the unrivalled economic dynamism of the United States. It thus runs the risk of losing all capacity to rise to the challenges assailing it.

Among those most urgently requiring a decision, these include:

Population ageing, which will add 7 percentage points of GDP to public spending between now and 2030, barring changes in the welfare system;

Rising threats from chaos in neighbouring states, which are increasingly hives of criminal activity. Poland, for instance, is one of the world’s foremost producers of synthetic drugs consumed in the West; Malta and Hungary are money laundering centres, while morphine base is manufactured in Romania and Bulgaria for export to the Union.

The European brain drain: Europe’s elites no longer feel they have a future within the Union. Europe’s universities are losing their reputation for excellence, for want of the capacity to co-ordinate their curricula and research facilities. One of the most worrying consequences of this is the brain drain in research: in 1996, 17,000 European students moved to the United States upon completing their doctorates, and half of them stay there for more than 5 years.

The budgetary consequences of these developments are starting to run out of control.

Looking beyond Agenda 2000, nobody knows how to finance the huge costs of enlargement, defence, industrial and social infrastructures, pensions and the conversion of industries rendered obsolete by the new technologies.

The dynamics of enlargement will bring all of these pressures to a head.

2. Pressures for enlargement

The Union will be subject to two seemingly contradictory pressures over the next ten years, namely pressure to broaden its powers and pressure to enlarge its territory.

a) Broader powers

A strange alliance of States eager to shift the burden of their problems and a Commission eager to gain new powers will further accelerate the extension of the Union’s scope of intervention. After monetary policy will come budgetary and fiscal policy, followed by foreign and social policy, higher education policy, justice, and immigration. No sphere will escape this demand for coherence, co-ordination or integration.

* Monetary unification will play a powerful integrating role in this, extending to issues apparently far-removed from it. Not only will it create pressures for tax harmonisation and the merging of budgetary procedures in order to stimulate growth and job creation, but also, by spurring increased labour mobility, it will create pressure for harmonisation of qualifications and university systems.

* The Union’s existing array of instruments to reduce regional inequalities between long-standing and new members will prove inadequate and will have to be reinforced, along with its arsenal of instruments of social integration.

* The Kosovo affair served as a reminder—if anyone had forgotten—of the permanence of American military dominance, and also of Washington’s determination to keep its own soldiers out of harm’s way. It was a reminder of the urgent need to reflect on the future value of American protection and of the need to reinforce and harness the defence resources of the Union’s members. It further served as a reminder of the need, as decided in the final declaration of the Cologne European Council in June 1999, to create "the capacity for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces." That is a major undertaking, which will have to be carried out in a manner consistent with the management of the Alliance and the neutral status of certain Union members. After all, not all of the Union’s member countries wish to be bound by the constraints of the North Atlantic Treaty or by those of Article 5 of the Brussels Treaty establishing the WEU, which create a collective security guarantee. That is true even if this guarantee is a de facto one, and even if no Union member can fail to feel obliged to come to the defence of another member under attack.

* Add to this a series a of new issues springing from the advent of the Internet and new technologies. These concern preservation of the tax base, cultural policy and cross-border crime. These "Euro-crimes" are going to need a "Euro-police" and "Euro-judges" to deal with them.

All this could breed a proliferation of procedures, institutions, councils and agencies. In other words, it could aggravate the existing bureaucratic obscurity, contradicting the demand for transparency, efficiency and greater democracy expressed by the voters.

b) Territorial enlargement: towards a 40-member Europe

The decision in principle to undertake an initial enlargement of the Union to include certain central and eastern European countries was made by the Copenhagen European Council on June 22, 1993. The Luxembourg Council of December 12 and 13, 1997 decided to open negotiations with the six countries selected by the Commission in Agenda 2000, i.e. five countries from central and eastern Europe and the Baltic (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia), and Cyprus. Parallel to this, European Conferences were to be held with Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia.

In addition to these eleven countries which officially been allowed to go forward with their accession process, very powerful pressures will shortly arise to open further doors to the Union (just after these eleven countries, if not simultaneously) to Malta, Croatia, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia, and even one day Serbia and Montenegro.

But then, how can we exclude Moldavia, whose economic and cultural ties to Romania make it a natural candidate? And, once all the Baltic countries have been admitted, how can we fail to recognise the European claims of Belarus, if it has not merged with Russia by then? Again, how can we refuse to entertain the future candidature of Ukraine, something many Poles and a handful of German officials already discuss with barely concealed enthusiasm? Finally, will the Swiss really wish to remain perpetually outside such a body of nations?

It would be hard, by then, to go on rejecting Turkey, which has been left out of the current accession procedures even though it is the longest-standing candidate of all. One would at least have to put it on an equal footing with Ukraine, if only for demographic reasons.

Looking beyond this list (which could bring the number of Union members to 38 some time around 2015), all that would remain outside would be Russia and the countries further to the East. Some of the latter, e.g. Armenia and Georgia, have, from a cultural standpoint, at any rate, a distinct European dimension.

That brings the potential number of Union members to 41. For there is no certainty the present process of fragmentation has run its course, and that there won’t be some challenges to the existing frontiers of Hungary, Macedonia, or Russia. The idea of the nation is a relatively new one in eastern Europe; frontiers are unsettled and in many cases artificial. Once the Union spreads to all or most of Europe, ethnically homogeneous regions will be less inhibited about seceding in order to make sure their voice is heard within the Union. Some will have no qualms about exchanging the protection of their national capital for that of Brussels.

The case of Russia, along with that of Turkey, is the weightiest and most arguable, demographically, culturally and strategically speaking.

Even if, for many people, there is no way it can be regarded as a future member of the Union, no one denies it will have to be granted associate status at least. Everyone acknowledges that the greatest danger to the western part of the continent would be to have a Russia that had grown bellicose once more because it felt itself to be isolated. Many will come to the conclusion that the surest way to guarantee a peaceful future for Russia would be to admit it to full membership of the Union, as we have ended up doing for the international financial institutions and the G8.

I expect the same will apply to Turkey, ultimately, if we are to avoid a radicalisation of Islam to the south-west of the Union.

Some people would argue that this prospect is implausible, as living standards in all these countries are far below the level demanded of the most recently admitted members. And that they will be persistently fragile.

But people forget that the geopolitical situation has changed since 1989. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the break-up of Yugoslavia have profoundly altered the way people see Europe, and the urgency of joining it has become an incontrovertible political fact.

It will no longer be possible to wait for a country to match the level of economic development and democratic stability of the present member countries before admitting them to the Union. Even now, the eleven officially-recognised candidate countries together represent a mere 4 percent of the Union’s GDP, while representing 20 percent of its population; that means their average standard of living is 5 times lower than that of the Union. This average will be lower still when the Balkan countries and the rest of the Orthodox world are allowed to start negotiating membership.

But it is precisely because these countries are lagging behind that it is urgent to admit them to the Union:

on the one hand because remaining outside the Union will breed political uncertainty and threats, with damaging consequences for the western part of the continent. If these countries remain perpetually outside the Union, they will be a breeding ground for dangerous mafias that could ultimately destabilise the Union;

second, because bringing them into the Union will stabilise their democracies and enable them to put in place the necessary infrastructures in order to narrow the gap with the western part of the continent.

Earlier accessions bear out this point. Those of Spain and Portugal reversed the flow of migration. The civil war in Northern Ireland has not prevented Great Britain and Ireland from becoming members of the Union. Indeed, membership has even helped put an end to that civil war by demonstrating the inanity of the frontier between the two parts of the island. Similarly, no one now disputes that Greece’s admission to the Union, a process that was accelerated precisely in order the stabilise that country’s fledgling democracy, has achieved its aim.

Altogether, the Union will be (already is) subject to very heavy pressure to open talks with all these countries. These countries will consider (already consider) membership as a due, to the point of challenging the right of the existing members to decide today among themselves on new common policies or even on institutional reforms, on the grounds that these will affect them after they join the Union.

This is not science fiction. These upheavals will take place before 2020, in other words tomorrow. We must start gauging their consequences right away and set the Union on a new course in order to withstand them.

The Union cannot, and must not, feel itself bound by the procedures that served it when expanding from 6 to 9, then from 9 to 12, and from 12 to 15. Today’s Slovenia is not the Great Britain of 1975, and the Europe of 2003 is not the Europe of 1970.

The Union must make a lucid choice of strategy, which will very largely depend on what it decides with respect to enlargement.

3. Choosing a model for Europe in 2020

Europe will only be able to preserve its identity if it can reconcile its history with its future, through a project embodied in legal documents.

And it will only be master of its destiny if statesmen and women are capable of putting this project into effect.

More specifically, its peoples will have to choose explicitly from among five possible futures, from among five long-term visions of the Union.

Two of these, which I shall call "federal" and "sovereign" are situated within its existing territory, and three others (designated below as "vague", "Atlantic", and "plural") are accompanied by more or less extensive enlargement.

a) A federal Union

In the first scenario, the Fifteen would advance towards economic, social, political and military integration without awaiting the arrival of the eastern European countries. This has been termed "deepening before enlargement."

Candidates would have to make do with joining what was by then a virtually federal entity.

This scenario presupposes not only a fresh, and this time successful, revision of the institutional reforms that failed at Amsterdam (concerning the weighting of Council votes, extending the scope of qualified majority voting, and limiting the number of Commissioners), but also undertaking far more radical reforms to render Community institutions independent of the number of member countries.

There is no lack of ideas as to how to achieve this: on the boldest assumption, Europe would institute a President elected by universal suffrage, based on a European constitution. From a general point of view, this would entail the adoption of a democracy of peoples (i.e. 1 citizen, 1 vote), while respecting the democracy of nations (1 State, 1 vote) for questions touching on the heart of national sovereignty.

Ultimately, the Commission and the Council of Ministers would merge to form a single executive with the President. Membership of this executive would be fixed (at, say, 15) and unrelated to the future number of member countries. Members of the Council of Ministers could be Ministers for Europe in their respective countries, reporting directly to their Prime Minister and spending half of their time in Brussels.

An extreme version of this might see the creation of a "Directoire", a kind of Security Council, in which a small number of countries (7, for example) – some permanent, others rotating – would serve as an "inner" Community executive.

This executive would operate through a streamlined administration, most of whose directorates would be converted into distinct agencies. These would not be subject to the national quota rules or to international civil service requirements.

The Parliament would have genuine powers to scrutinise and appoint the executive, as well as the power to raise a tax and organise the transfer of resources from national tax revenues.

In a later stage, one could envisage the creation of a European citizenship and move towards the pooling of the main attributes of national sovereignty, i.e. taxation, justice, police, the armed forces, and diplomacy.

The final stage would see the transformation of the French and British seats on the Security Council into seats held in common by the Union, and the French and British nuclear strike forces would pass under the control of the European President.

In this scenario, until such time as federalism was able to afford the Fifteen sufficient protection against enlargement risks, candidate countries would be offered no more than interim solutions, e.g. a Confederation, the European Economic Area, associate status, ad hoc Eureka-style programmes… everything should be tried, including dragging out membership negotiations.

Union members would not commit large-scale expenditures to help candidates prepare for membership, devoting these expenditures instead to deepening their own co-operation.

Once progress towards federalism had become practically irreversible, the Fifteen would open the Union’s doors to new members. Naturally, these would not be obliged to join all dimensions of the Union immediately. In particular, they would not have to adopt the euro straightaway.

The probability of this scenario actually coming to pass is very low.

To be sure, the single currency will create pressure for greater solidarity among member countries in regard to budgetary policy, budget planning procedures, tax structures and negotiations on pay and working conditions. Indeed the unification of norms on economic governance will create a genuine dynamic in favour of federalism.

But, since the Maastricht Treaty (federalism’s "last hurrah," and even then France was able to achieve this only in the euphoria of German reunification), no one has been able drive the federal idea forward.

The demise of the Soviet threat and the fall of the Berlin Wall have removed any justification for the construction of a western European clone of the United States of America. The return in force of the advocates of sovereignty has done the rest.

So it is hard to imagine such a scenario being acceptable to Germany and Great Britain, nor to many people in France and elsewhere.

So we are going to have to live with the world as it is, with little likelihood of further moves toward federalism before enlargement.

For France to persist in this ambition, namely turning the Union into a bunker so as to strengthen it before opening it up, would be to condemn itself to diplomatic failure which would merely serve to isolate it. In that sense, this scenario is not only impossible, it is undesirable.

b) A Union of sovereign states

The second scenario is diametrically opposed to the foregoing.

Even before it has had time to negotiate the first wave of enlargement, a major economic or political crisis would break up Europe from within.

First, one cannot rule out the possibility that an eurozone country could (for example at the moment of final implementation of the single currency) face an intolerable surge in unemployment. Under threat of demonstrations or fierce opposition, that country’s government could decide to boost public spending in a way its partners find unacceptable; or it could even renationalise its currency in order to cut interest rates.

The euro might regain its strength once it was rid of this burden, considered too heavy for it by the markets. But the Union’s dynamic would be shattered.

However unlikely this eventuality, this possibility cannot by ruled out entirely. True, until now no major Community advance has been rolled back durably. Which is not to say that could never happen. The euro is not yet an irreversible fact of life, and a re-fragmentation of the continent’s currencies remains within the realms of possibility.

* One could also imagine the Union breaking up under the rising ideological influence of parties advocating sovereignty, in both member countries and candidate countries.

In the member countries, a recession could lead public opinion to cling to its existing gains and seek protection for ailing industries. Opinion could reject any further transfers of resources or powers to the Community institutions. In particular, certain sections of society could refuse the fiscal solidarity demanded by the creation of the euro and enlargement. This opposition could notably come from farmers and salaried employees, or from regions threatened by competition from candidate countries.

In the candidate countries, opposition to the necessary transformations, particularly in agriculture and heavy industry, could drive populist governments to reconsider their applications for membership. More fundamentally, opposition could also stem from a revived focus on the nation in a bid to safeguard its identity; national entities themselves could come under threat from efforts to constitute ethnically homogeneous groupings.

This scenario is not impossible, for no gain can be considered permanent. Avoiding it calls for relentless vigilance and, above all, a grand design with a promise of growth.

c) A vague Union

The likeliest assumption is that enlargement will proceed in a succession of waves until the Union has 35 members at least, but that it will not be possible to effect any significant change in the procedural rules or mechanisms used to negotiate this expansion.

In this scenario, neither the next IGC, nor any subsequent one, will succeed in reforming the composition of the Commission, in changing the weighting of votes, or in extending the scope of voting by qualified majority. The democracy of nations will definitively triumph over the democracy of peoples within the Union.

As a result, new members will immediately enjoy the same rights as the old ones as soon as they join, in terms of voting rights, representation on the Commission and in the Commission’s personnel.

As in the past, the Acts of Accession will all follow the same pattern. They will contain a section on the adaptation of the original treaties and, within this section, a title relating to institutional provisions. This title will confine itself to numerically adjusting all of the various Community institutions and bodies concerned. As in the past, all new members will enjoy all the rights and privileges of the founder members. That means they will have a commissioner, they will be able to impose their language and their civil servants, and will be entitled to vote on all issues, including those in which they won’t participate or in which they are in a transitional phase.

On this assumption, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia, Hungary, and perhaps also Cyprus, will join the Union some time around 2006. In the five years thereafter, notwithstanding the eagerness of the new members to shut the door behind them, the Union will be unable to refuse admission to Cyprus, Malta, Romania, the other Baltic countries, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia (now democratic), Montenegro and, if it exists, Kosovo. Around the same time, it will certainly have to admit Switzerland, Moldavia, and possibly also Belarus.

This second enlargement will be the hardest to organise, since a 20-member Union will have to manage the arrival of 15 new members with very low living standards and in some cases a minuscule population.

That will leave the three heavyweights, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey, to be dealt with in a third possible phase. It will be impossible to justify their exclusion by that time, at which point the Union will have 40 members.

In fact, most of the Union’s institutions will become unmanageable the moment its membership exceeds 20.

In the first place, they will be intellectually unmanageable, because the current philosophy of the candidate countries is not to submit to the initial disciplines of the Union. Rather, they are expecting to sign up to a kind of customs union, an economic co-prosperity zone, while preserving their national independence and relying on the United States for their security.

Second, these institutions will be physically unmanageable. As the experience of the WEU has already shown, enlargement can lead to paralysis of the Community institutions.

When it takes two days to go round the table, the Council of Ministers will be an empty shell. With the arrival of a large number of very small countries, no member will be totally isolated any more; compromise will be harder and harder to achieve; the end result will be a dictatorship of minorities. Foreign and security policy will turn into an obscure object of conflict between the Commission and the Council.

The euro itself will come under threat, once a majority of small countries is able to decide by simple majority of governors to pursue an interest rate policy contrary to the interests of the most powerful countries.

Enhanced co-operation would not suffice to enable a handful of countries to progress significantly, since countries excluded from such co-operation would oppose its implementation.

Virtual institutional paralysis will slow down implementation of the internal market, which could even collapse, taking the euro with it.

At that point, Europe would at best be a kind of regional WTO. Solidarity between its members would be reduced to shreds by the obligation to dismantle public services as obstacles to market forces.

If this were to come about, it would be too late to reform Europe’s institutions: they would no longer be capable of being amended.

Some countries will reinvent new groupings outside the Union, thus hastening its fragmentation and possibly even its break-up.

Most of the others will seek to strengthen their ties with the United States, the last remaining tutelary power.

d) An Atlantic Union

Does the Union share common values capable of justifying the independence and unity of Europe, or should it vanish within some wider Euro-American or Atlantic community?

More and more Europeans (as many in the member countries as in the candidate countries, and especially among those concerned to guard against a possible Russian threat) will claim that the Union States and Europe each embody part of a single civilisation, and that they should therefore be brought together within a common entity. Ultimately, these people would add, the Europeans and Americans will together represent less than 8 percent of the world’s population, accounting for 45 percent of its income and 70 percent of its wealth. They ought, therefore, to unite in the face of the demands of the South.

For these Europeans, attempts to unite the continent politically are an illusion. It would be far more reasonable, they claim, to pool all of the political, strategic and economic resources of all the Allies. The Union would be acceptable merely as an extension of the Alliance.

One already encounters this kind of thinking among certain American intellectuals; at least among those who still believe the United States should go on bothering with Europe. They argue that the United States no longer has the means to finance everything that will soon be needed to ensure the world’s security and the defence of the West. Therefore, they claim, it will be in America’s interest to push for enlargement of the European Union and for folding the economic and political institutions of the Union into NATO, rather than transfer NATO’s military powers to the Union.

In their view, Europe should be nothing but a "civilian power," leaving military and geostrategic power in the hands of the United States.

The more Americans acknowledge Europe’s importance, the more they will want powers to be shared within institutions under their control, such as NATO in the military sphere, and the World Bank in the financial sphere. They will skilfully flatter the Europeans’ egos without treating them as equals.

If this scenario were to gain any credibility in the coming years, the entire discussion over the future of Europe’s institutions would take place under America’s umbrella.

As soon as this project is placed on the agenda, either explicitly or implicitly, the United States will present itself as a member of a wider grouping and will influence the evolution of the Union—rather as candidate members of the Union today consider themselves to be concerned by decisions made among the Fifteen.

This is already the case, to some extent, when one sees the keen attention with which American diplomats are observing preparations for the forthcoming enlargements.

It is also the case in numerous areas of the economy and politics, such as the arms industry, where huge Euro-Atlantic groupings are starting to emerge. It goes without saying that, in this scenario, the euro would merely be an extension of the dollar.

Even if this scenario may still look implausible to some today, it needs to be taken seriously. I believe it is the one most likely to occur, around which the broadest consensus currently exists.

World demographic and geopolitical trends, the handling of the Kosovo affair, and the eventual response to a grave threat from a newly bellicose Russia in the coming years, will all add to its credibility. We must therefore prepare for it.

e) A plural Union

One final scenario, though perhaps not the most likely, deserves lengthy consideration, since it could provide an answer to the four threats discussed above. This scenario would amount to favouring enlargement of the Union up to 35 or 40 members, provided the Union’s operational and accession procedures are modified beforehand. This must be done in such a way that territorial enlargement and the broadening of the scope of intervention do not impair its effectiveness.

I call this the "plural Union" scenario.

This scenario reflects an ambitious goal, namely to assemble all Europeans within a multiform power, endowed with sufficiently diversified political, military and financial resources to be able to preserve a lifestyle, values, and a distinctive conception of law and the social contract, and to be able to influence the solutions to the major challenges facing our planet.

There is no way all our partners, present and future, would unanimously share this project initially: especially not our future partners. Many of them believe the very notion of "power" to be unhealthy or even obscene, and that the role of politics, national or continent-wide, should be confined to creating a framework conducive to the exercise of individual freedom.

To convince them to go further, we would need to share two powerful ideas with them, namely that unless Europe itself becomes a power, the freedom and independence of each European could one day be in jeopardy.

Continental power is incompatible with neither the preservation of national sovereignty nor with the American alliance.

This leads us to propose a radically new vision of the Union’s future as a plural institution.

On the one hand, collegiate decision-making bodies would allow the majority to avoid being dictated to by a minority; on the other, minorities could team up for specific projects without the majority being able to prevent them.

This differential, multiple-geometry integration would go far beyond the "enhanced co-operation" provided for in the Amsterdam Treaty and the euro mechanisms provided for in the Maastricht Treaty, by making them much more widespread.

This would create a polycentric, networked Union, in line with the likely development of public and private organisations, less and less hierarchical and increasingly relationship-based.

The Union would no longer be seen as a hierarchical, pyramid-style entity, but rather as a series of groupings to which each and all would be entitled to belong, but with no obligation to do so. This would not even be a question of proceeding through projects first involving the most advanced members and then gradually spreading out to embrace the others. Rather, this scenario would entail the development of many networked, polycentric co-operative ventures, with no generally-applicable hierarchy or goal.

The coming together of these many different groupings would constitute the "plural Union" and would give its personality and its strength.

One would need to ensure the plural Union did not become just an improvised collection of disparate projects, and that the strongest members do not merely club together and isolate themselves from the rest through a series of enhanced co-operative ventures serving as a pretext for withholding solidarity from the weaker members. This would have to be done by devising new focuses of loyalty and protection for all Europeans, and by developing to implement them new mechanisms for strengthening the democracy of peoples (1 citizen, 1 vote), even at the expense of the democracy of nations (1 nation, 1 vote).

* *

Detailed proposals for putting these principles into practice are presented below.

4. Programme for a Plural Union

It would be necessary to progress in five directions at once, starting with the creation of the institutional conditions for enlargement via two successive Intergovernmental Conferences (IGCs) in 1999-2000 and 2000-2003. Then, in the course of the decade 1999-2010, a rapid enlargement would be finalized, candidate by candidate, after evaluating its budgetary consequences (1999-2010). The final direction (1999-2020) would involve implementing a whole series of projects aimed a consolidating the plural Union.

a) The forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference (1999-2000).

Member countries have already planned two institutional conferences in order to discuss these prospects: one timed to coincide with the first enlargement, and the second one year before the Union expands its membership to 20. That would be too late.

It would be very hazardous for the Union to wait until the next round of enlargements has taken place before reforming itself, for by then it would already be a vague Union with no possibility of further reform.

A first Intergovernmental Conference should very shortly lay down the minimum conditions to enable the institutions to start preparing for eventual new members. It would be pointless to set over-ambitious goals for this conference.

One might simply try to resolve those problems that could not be settled at Amsterdam.

Under a reasonable timetable, this would start straightaway, in July 1999, under the Finnish Presidency, and would end under the French Presidency at the end of 2000.

It should focus on achieving the following reforms:

· Replace obligatory unanimous voting in the Council’s decisions by qualified majority voting in as many areas as possible, starting with social questions, taxation, the environment, the structural funds, services, intellectual property, the Regional Fund, and culture. One cannot hope to achieve this for questions requiring Parliamentary ratification, such as own resources or enlargement, nor would one want this for foreign and security policy.

· Modify the weighting of the different countries’ votes in Council meetings by increasing the weighting of the most populous countries, so as not to subject the Council to the dictatorship of the little countries when voting by qualified majority. For that, one can choose a simple double majority system (of countries and populations). Better still, no doubt, would be a change in the weighting of each country more accurately reflecting the actual size of the population. This would benefit Germany and break the sacrosanct rule of equality between the two banks of the Rhine.

· Split the General Affairs Council into two bodies. The first would deal with running the Union, the second with its foreign policy.
– the Council of European Affairs Ministers representing the member states would be chaired by a minister elected for a long period from among its members and would act as the Community executive, drawing progressively closer to the Commission.
– the Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers would form an External Security Council, responsible for defining the conduct of foreign and security policy.

· Reduce the number of the Council’s sub-formations in order to avoid a proliferation of meetings with closely-related powers and contradictory memberships. Certain Councils could be amalgamated around broader functions (e.g. General Affairs and Development; Ecofin and the Budget; an expanded Internal Market and Competitiveness Council would bring together Industry, Telecommunications, Energy and Research; finally, the General Affairs Council itself would deal with horizontal issues and internal market questions .

· Reorganise the Council’s discussions to prohibit round-table discussions and generalise the practise of having rapporteurs introduce each point on the agenda.

· Cut the number of Directorates in the Commission, and start converting some of them into standalone agencies, distinct from the Commission machinery; these should be obliged to operate efficiently and produce results.

· Allow the Parliaments of each member state to be consulted on European affairs.

These reforms will not be enough to enable the Union to prepare for enlargement, which means it is necessary to go much further than that.

b) A new comprehensive Treaty (1999-2003)

Looking beyond the next IGC, another, more sweeping reform would complete the task of preparing the Union to take in a large number of members and ensure consistency among a broad range of projects.

Ideally, this reform would take the form of approval by popular suffrage of a European Constitution, to which a European citizenship would be attached. If that is not possible, we should at least move towards a new Treaty, completing and strengthening the reforms already referred to above, pursuing the following avenues:

· Limiting the number of seats at the Council table and the Commission to 20

That would be the chief, the most radical, and the toughest of the reforms needed. This is the one that would unquestionably enable the institutions to function into the long term. It would entail creating five more country groupings than those represented by the existing 15 members, so as to be able to limit the number of commissioners and ministers around the table to 20 thereafter.

When a new country joined the Union, it would join a country grouping. Each country grouping would have one of its members sitting at the Council and Commission table, perhaps on a rotating basis. Each country would speak for its grouping for a two-year period. If a question comes up that specifically concerns a single country, that country would hold its grouping's seat for that question even if it is not its turn. Each country grouping would have a certain number of voting rights, along the lines of the IMF and World Bank. The definition, boundaries and the countries grouped together within each country grouping, and the calculation of voting rights associated with each of them, could be done at the time of admission of new members into one or the other of the 20 country groupings thus created. A suggested distribution of countries by grouping is appended to this report to illustrate the system. Many other possible distributions could be envisaged, mixing up eastern and western European countries more.

The same principle could apply to the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, via a reform of the Maastricht Treaty.

The number 20 is suggested here because this has already been identified as a limit beyond which far-reaching institutional reform is necessary.

It would be extremely difficult to build a consensus around this reform, but it would represent a radical and definitive solution to the institutional problems surrounding enlargement. This would not entail a completely new type of legal structure. In fact it would work along the same lines as the international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, the IMF, and the regional development banks, which have admitted a hundred or so new member countries since their inception without any particular difficulty.

But this runs counter to Community tradition. Article 213 of the Treaty stipulates " The Commission must include at least one national of each of the Member States, but may not include more than two Members having the nationality of the same State." However, there is nothing to prevent the Treaty from being amended on this point, without prejudice to the equality of States within the Union. In any case, this kind of reform could only succeed if it is attempted and implemented long before the next enlargements take place.

If this reform proves impossible, one could arrive at a roughly equivalent outcome:

* For the Commission, by combining the commissioners’ portfolios around fifteen or so co-ordinating vice presidents, who would have real authority over the other commissioners. The key vice presidencies would cover the following remits: external affairs; economic and industrial affairs; social affairs; infrastructure and environment; transport; culture; education; agriculture and regional policy. The Commission President would retain direct responsibility for the budget and administration. The Vice Presidents meeting with the President would form the Union’s true executive.

* For the Council, by making qualified voting and enhanced co-operation the general rule, in particular among the eurozone countries. One could also imagine creating a "directoire" with a rotating membership among all of the Union’s member countries, patterned on the Troika system; but that would be even harder to put in place. In a "softer" version of this, one could imagine having all of the ministers attending meetings, but each country grouping being limited to a single vote.

Transfer the bulk of the Commission’s functions to executive Agencies, massively cutting its personnel and leaving only the political dimension and leadership tasks to the Commission proper. For effective control of the Commission, one could institute the practice of having in-house lawyers and internal auditors (State controllers).

Gradually merging the Commission Presidency and that of the European Council into a single function, under the title of President of the European Union. To begin with, the duration of the two functions’ terms of office would be harmonised, and their tasks would be co-ordinated, before actually merging their functions. The President of the Union would be elected by a joint vote of the Council and the Parliament, and he or she would be accountable to both bodies. The President would have powers of representation and would chair meetings.

Gradually merge the Council of European Affairs Ministers and the Commission by giving it the powers normally attributed to an executive: namely the right to initiate legislation, to conduct foreign policy and common policies, and overseeing the proper functioning of monetary union and the internal market. For administrative purposes, the executive would work through the merged administrative departments of the Council and the Commission. It could be censured by the European Parliament, which could in turn be dissolved by the decision of the European Council.

c) Overall budget programming (1999-2010)

Looking beyond Agenda 2000, the admission of 20-25 new member countries to the Union would entail considerable expenditures, far exceeding the Marshall Plan of 1948-1951 in terms of the amounts going to the recipients as a proportion of their GDP.

These expenditures have yet to be clearly evaluated or even studied, despite the abundant literature on enlargement.

If enlargement is not to aggravate inequalities, and if we want to avoid the emergence of a kind of shanty town in the eastern part of the EU, candidate members must be made ready to join in the enhanced co-operation programmes. Also, their sectors in difficulty and regions under threat will have to be strengthened.

That will require large-scale investment, focusing notably on infrastructure, telecom networks, and small and medium-sized businesses.

Altogether, the cost of enlargement to 35 countries could come to around 1,000 billion euros, and that amount would have to be doubled at least if Russia, Ukraine and Turkey has to be admitted.

To take just one example, the cost of implementing the "acquis communautaire" for the environment alone by the first 10 candidate countries would come to 120 billion euros. The budgets of the Union, PHARE, and TACIS, and the regional funds could handle only a small proportion of these requirements.

Even more so than today, the European Investment Bank (EIB) will have to become the instrument of European integration. It will merge with the EBRD, as this international financial institution will have completed its mission once enlargement has taken place.

It might prove impossible to merge these two institutions, owing to the presence of non-European shareholders in the latter. In that case, one could simply assemble all of the EU’s member countries’ shares in the EBRD and place them in the hands of the EIB, making the former a subsidiary of the latter, majority-controlled by the EU.

These costs should be seen in the light of the considerable impact enlargement would have on EU economic growth and of military spending cuts made possible by stabilisation of the Union's flank regions.

d) A new approach to managing enlargement (1999-2015)

Several criteria should be applied when negotiating each new accession: progress towards democracy, progress towards a market economy, the capacity to cope with competitive pressures within the Union, the capacity to incorporate the "acquis communautaire" and the development of welfare protection for the weakest members of society.

To ensure that the arrival of new members does not impair the effectiveness of the Union, their participation should be confined to those issues on which they are prepared to accept Union solidarity. That is to say, membership of the Union should be disconnected from entitlement to the associated rights by linking the exercise of rights to the fulfilment of duties. Candidates would thus become members with progressively expanding rights.

In other words, it ought to be possible to impose on countries lining up for the forthcoming enlargements the same constraints as those that the Union members have imposed upon themselves with respect to the euro, whereby they acknowledge each other’s rights only insofar as they have accepted certain duties.

This principle (no rights without duties) ought to become the general rule in a Plural Union, applicable to all issues and all members, old and new alike.

In application of this principle, future members of the European Union will have to renounce the right to exercise their Council veto when this is deciding on measures pertaining to a Union policy which, in virtue of the Act of Accession, does not yet concern them, even if these measures will ultimately apply to them in full.

There is no legal obstacle to this. There is nothing unreasonable in seeking a fair balance between rights and obligations.

However, because the Acts of Accession are freely negotiated, this naturally assumes that the candidates agree to their rights being limited in this way. They will refuse this on the grounds that this had never been required in any previous enlargement. It could be justified on the grounds of the precedents of Maastricht and Amsterdam, which provided for the possibility of reducing in certain sectors (monetary and social in particular) the rights of those who do not co-operate.

This kind of clause would permit rapid enlargement of the Union, combining long transition periods with variable safeguard clauses depending on the country.

Experience shows that actual transition periods are shorter than those initially provided for, since the progressive application of Community law generally speeds up economic growth and progress towards democracy.

This progressive admission process will leave time for more far-reaching reform of the EU. In particular, it will leave time to institute the principle of country groupings in the Council and Commission, as descrEIBd above.

e) Multiple geometry projects (1999-2020)

While membership negotiations are going on and institutional reforms are being implemented, it will also be important to put in hand new programmes involving a variable number of EU member countries.

The four main areas driving the EU forward in the future will be: the economy, social affairs, education and justice.

The economy:

As the first example of multiple geometry in action, the Euro Council could become a place for framing an economic policy for the EU, starting by aligning budget timetables and co-ordinating national policies. It could then be transformed into a fully-fledged Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Budget for the EU.

* To begin with, the Euro Council could be transformed into a body for the mutual surveillance of national budget programming, and subsequently into a body for the co-ordination of national budget policies, while gradually developing a common doctrine. This would lead to the co-ordination of budgetary documents, bases (year n-1) and procedures (preparation, voting, execution, and control) for all countries in the Union, before going on to integrate their economic policies more deeply.

* One could then go on to create permits to run public deficits, along the lines of permits to pollute, in which the eurozone would determine a global (federal) authorised deficit, to be distributed among the various countries. These in turn would be free to exchange deficit permits among themselves.

* Tax harmonisation would come next, starting naturally with taxation of mobile factors, followed by savings.

* One could then start to think about funding the EU Budget out of a specific tax, an ecotax, for example (this would require constitutional reforms in all of the member countries).

* Finally, one of the key battles would concern the extension of the scope of article 113, namely the generalisation of Community trade policy principles to services and investment. If this is not to destroy the very foundations of the EU, it will be necessary to establish a European doctrine capable of avoiding the precedents set by the NTM and the MAI. The aim here would be to protect Europe's special features by not opening up to the world as much as we open up among Europeans.

Social affairs:

If the single currency is to survive, it will be necessary to combine an agreement among the social partners (to ensure that average wages rise in line with productivity) with an agreement among the Finance Ministers (to keep growth in public spending below the pace of economic growth).

When all social questions are decided by qualified majority, agreement will be required to homogenise labour rights among as many countries as possible by instituting minimum employee rights, granting powers to the works councils of large European corporations, creating a European company statute and a European third-sector undertaking statute, as well as agreements on minimum notice for dismissal of employees and minimum compensation for collective dismissals.

With the convergence of real wages, we will start to move towards a European minimum wage.

A charter of civil and social rights will combat racism in the workplace. This would stimulate progress in international law and in the law on the treatment of foreigners.

Once all of these advances have been put into practice, they will be combined into a single European Social Treaty.

* Justice and Home Affairs:

With the rise of Euro-crime (cross-border crime using the new technologies, terrorism, money laundering, drugs, corruption, counterfeiting of the euro, fraud committed against the interests of the Union, and vehicle smuggling), we will need to work towards the creation of a European judicial area in which deepening and enlargement will be increasingly inter-linked.

While this will not entail a generalised harmonisation of law, nor a unified civil and criminal justice system, it will require progress in that direction among the candidate countries and member states.

- The candidate countries will be expected to strengthen the rule of law at home (including recognition of the crime of conspiracy to commit an offence, acceptance of the general rules of the FATF, and training for judges). All bank transactions carried out in a place not subject to proper surveillance should be declared null and void. A tax, however small, on unearned income could serve to eliminate anonymous accounts, trace the origin of funds and identify their owners.

- Member countries should gradually co-ordinate their police, judicial systems and immigration policies and should progressively harmonise their legislation on Euro-crime. The role of the European Union in this would concern the setting of common norms defining conspiracy to commit an offence, and on jurisdictional competence over disputes arising in respect of these forms of crime in application of the principle of subsidiarity.

The Council of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers could use article 42 of the Amsterdam Treaty to achieve all of the above, deciding for itself which method of voting to apply for that purpose.

Real powers of initiative and to initiate investigations will be given to the staff of Europol, working in conjunction with the national police forces. Procedures for rogatory commissions will be unified, enabling an examining magistrate in one Union member country to refer directly to the police in another member country. Extradition procedures between member countries will be replaced by a systematic and automatic common indictment procedure. The legal professions will be harmonised and freedom of establishment facilitated.

Ultimately, one could envisage the creation of a single police force, customs force, prosecutor's office and criminal appeal jurisdiction for the EU as a whole. One could imagine referring offences brought to light by this European prosecutor's office to the national courts. Moreover, one would have to negotiate instruments permitting direct enforcement of civil judgments and receivables from one European country to another. In the first place, this should concern family disputes and those pertaining to commercial debts.

An individual right of appeal to the European Court of Justice would be instituted, once plaintiffs had exhausted all national channels of appeal, leading to an enforceable decision or simple quashing of a judgment, as for the European Court of Human Rights.

In the more distant future, the European Court of Justice would be merged with the European Court of Human rights, or at least a layer would be created between them providing for the quashing of judgments (equivalent to a Court of Cassation).

It would be worth looking into the setting up a European Penal Tribunal.

All this would be done under the supervision of an autonomous EU agency, which would ultimately also be responsible for controlling the common external frontier.

A single status for foreigners would serve to harmonise conditions for entry, residence, family reunion, the law governing political refugee status and the granting of citizenship to foreigners.

The first European Council devoted exclusively to Justice and Home Affairs, due to take place at Tampere in the coming months, could launch this programme.

* Educational and Cultural policy

Economic integration is also creating pressure for closer links between the bodies responsible for delivering vocational and university diplomas.

We need to work towards a Single Educational Act creating the conditions for the free movement of students, better comprehensibility and compatibility between diplomas, the generalisation of a two-cycle system (pre-and post degree, followed by a masters and/or doctorate), the introduction of credits to encourage mobility and continuing education, harmonisation of access to social services for students, mobility of teachers and research workers, promoting a Europewide system for the evaluation of standards and the European dimension in teaching).

This Single Act would be patterned on a European model of higher education. The initial premises of this were spelled out at the Sorbonne colloquium in May 1998, while subsequent stages were formulated in Bologna in June 1999.

* * *

These four fields delineate the main areas of possible progress for a plural Union.

It will be harder to formulate equally integrated policies for the Union in other areas.

* Foreign and defence policy:

It will not be possible to establish a common foreign or defence policy among countries that do not want to do so. Consequently, it would be preferable to envisage these in terms of specific groups, or, in Community jargon, "to introduce the possibility of enhanced co-operation in the second pillar."

The EU's foreign policy must not remain disconnected from its international economic policy. Consequently, the job of the Commissioner responsible for external economic affairs and trade should be merged with that of the Commissioner in charge of European security and co-operation policy.

This official would be given the title of Vice-President of the Commission and the powers currently exercised by the troika, the latter being abolished.

The first step would be to pool the instruments of foreign economic and security policy in the flank regions of the Union, i.e. bilateral relations with the candidate countries and the Mediterranean Basin countries. Development policy will remain an essential instrument of this security policy, even if it does take on new forms. The impending renewal of the Lome Convention represents a major challenge from this point of view.

Much later on, and only if it becomes possible to move towards a truly common foreign policy for the EU as a whole, one could envisage combining the French and British seats in the UN Security Council. Or at least, while retaining their seats, France and Great Britain could express points of view previously agreed through consultation with the other Europeans. That would mean including diplomats from other European countries in the British and French UN delegations.

* A European defence policy would need to acquire a capacity for projection, surveillance and policing on its frontiers, by setting up a joint command of European forces within the framework of Nato. It should also be capable of co-ordinating civil and humanitarian aspects of defence operations.

The European Union should take over all of the powers of the WEU, setting up a Defence Agency to replacing the Permanent Council of the WEU and assisting the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy in the preparation of defence strategy. The WEU Assembly would cease to exist.

Pending the creation of forums involving all the Europeans in arms and security issues, it will be necessary to safeguard and develop the existing bodies of plural co-operation. In particular, it will be necessary to harmonise, in the countries concerned, procedures for invitations to tender and rules governing the granting of security clearance, in order to promote defence industry integration.

In the very long term, thought will have to be given to "Europeanising" the British and French nuclear strike forces.

* The technological challenges:

Many other subjects will demand greater co-operation among Europeans. Examples include those where technology is influencing the future of the EU, and notably employment, education, the environment, health, food safety, crime, and using the Internet in modernising its institutions.

* * *

That leaves the question of what to do if most of these reforms cannot be undertaken or concluded: should one agree to enlargement nevertheless? The answer to that question, which flows from the foregoing, is absolutely negative. Any enlargement in the absence of the reforms needed to make it possible will be suicidal for the EU and contrary to the interests of the candidate countries. It would therefore be to the Union's credit if it were to announce straightaway a minimum list of reforms that must be successfully implemented before enlargement negotiations can begin. These reforms are summarised in the recommendations that follow.

5. Summary of main recommendations: first reform, then enlarge

Express firm support for a 35-member Union or "plural Union."

Announce without delay that the forthcoming enlargements can under no circumstances proceed under the same rules as applied to the previous ones, because they will entail a change of nature for the Union.

Utilise the "democracy of peoples" (1 citizen/1 vote) to balance "democracy of nations" (1 country/1 vote).

Do not make Europe's frontiers a question of theological principle, and the same goes for the question as to whether the future Union should be federal or confederate.

Prepare for a "bespoke" enlargement, on a country-by-country basis, whereby the new member countries would only acquire voting rights as and when they are able to fulfil their duties.

Start right away instituting practises foreshadowing those that ought to be approved by the next two Intergovernmental Conferences, emphasising the need to create a dynamic capable of functioning independently of the number of members.

In the first IGC:

- Replace unanimous voting in the Council by qualified majority voting in as many areas of possible.

- Modify the weighting of the various countries' votes, reinforcing the weighting given to the most populous countries, so the Council is not in thrall to dictatorship by the least populous countries in qualified majority votes.

- Reduce the number of the Council's sub-formations, to avoid a proliferation of meetings with overlapping powers and contradictory compositions.

- Reorganise the Council's discussions to prohibit round table discussions and generalise the practice of rapporteurs to introduce each item on the agenda in order to avoid institutional paralysis.

- Split the General Affairs Council into two bodies, one responsible for the running of the EU and which would merge with the Commission, while the other would be responsible for foreign policy.

Choose new areas of action capable of fostering and supporting European loyalty around the determination to fight together against common threats, starting with Justice, Social Affairs and Education.

A second Intergovernmental Conference, prior to any enlargement, should seek to:

* Generalise, simplify and promote enhanced co-operation in all areas, while ensuring that countries refusing to join in are not allowed to thwart such co-operation.

* Decide to create five more country groupings than those represented by the existing 15 members, so as to be able to limit permanently the number of seats at the Council table, on the Commission and on the Board of Governors of the Central Bank to 20 thereafter. The definition, boundaries and the countries grouped together within each country grouping would be done at the time of admission of new members, as is done with the governing bodies of the international financial institutions.

* Limit the members of the Council of Ministers to 20 by combining the representatives of member states into country groupings. A new member would be assigned to one of the country groupings. Each country grouping would have a certain number of votes, and each Council member would represent a certain number of countries on a rotating basis.

* Similarly limit the number of Commissioners and Central Bank Governors allowed to vote to 20, with a rotating system within each country grouping.

* If this reform proves impossible, combine the Commissioners’ portfolios around fifteen or so co-ordinating vice presidents, who would have real authority over the other commissioners.

* Progressively convert the Commission Directorates into standalone agencies, obliged to operate efficiently and produce results, leaving only the political dimension and general leadership to the Commission.

* Gradually merge the Commission Presidency and that of the European Council into a Presidency of the European Union. The President of the Union would be elected by a joint vote of the Council and the Parliament, and he or she would be accountable to both bodies. The President would have powers of representation and would preside over the Union’s institutions. Executive power would remain in the hands of the General Affairs Council and the Commission, to be merged later.

* Involve the Parliaments of each Member State more closely in European affairs. Ultimately, all legislative power in the European sphere would be transferred to a two-chamber European Parliament, comprising a chamber elected by universal suffrage, and a chamber made up of representatives of the national parliaments.

I hope that all of these proposals will be deemed to warrant discussion. Whatever the case, it will not be possible to determine the future of the Continent honestly and with lucidity without debating them, without deep consideration by political leaders, and without an enthusiastic commitment on the part of intellectuals to preserve what remains to be saved of one of the wonders of human history: European civilisation.

Appendix

Suggested division of 41 countries into 20 groupings in the Union Councils.

Austria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro

Belgium

Denmark, Lithuania

Finland, Estonia, Hungary

France

Germany

Great Britain

Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg, Switzerland

Moldavia, Romania

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal, Macedonia, Montenegro

Russia, Serbia, Belarus

Spain

Sweden, Latvia

Turkey, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo

Ukraine

Германија претседавач со ЕУ

2007-01-11T13:10:00.000+01:00

Германија официјално ќе го преземе Претседателството со ЕУ на 1 јануари 2007. На прес конференцијата одржана на 27 декември, германскиот амбасадор Ралф Брет ја презентираше Програмата за работа која ќе се спроведува под мотото „Европа заеднички ќе успее“.
Програмата за работа има три поглавја кои се фокусираат на Заедницата односно понатамошното развивање на ЕУ, на заедничката внатрешна и правна политика и на заедничката надворешна и безбедносна политика.
Како што истакна амбасадорот Брет, за време на претседателствувањето со ЕУ, Германија ќе се обиде да го „оживее“ процесот на усвојување на европскиот устав, кој е многу важен за внатрешната консолидација на ЕУ и за понатамошното проширување. Во однос на процесот на проширувањето, германскиот амбасадор истакна дека ЕУ ќе се придржува до Солунската Агенда, но дека зачленувањето во ЕУ најмногу зависи од земјите кандидати и темпото со кои ги спроведуваат неопходните реформи.
Германија ќе биде на чело на Претседателството со ЕУ до 30 јуни 2007, кога таа улога ќе је преземе Португалија. Повеќе информации за програмата и активностите може да се најдат на официјалната веб страна на германското претседателство www.eu2007.de.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1st IS WORLD AIDS DAY

2006-12-01T11:22:00.000+01:00

http://www.joinred.com/news.asp

Заеднички повик за проектни предлози во рамките на програмата за соседство помеѓу Република Македонија и Република Грција

2006-11-27T12:01:00.000+01:00

ЗАЕДНИЧКИ ПОВИК ЗА ПРЕДЛОЗИ

Програма на соседство

Помеѓу Република Грција и Република Македонија

Наслов: Заеднички повик CBC Грција 2004 и Заеднички повик CBC Грција 2005
Референца: 04MAC03/01/001 и 05MAC02/01/001

(Извадок од Резимето на Повикот за предлози)
Органот за Управување на INTERREG IIIA програмата / Министерството за економија ифинансии на Грција во соработка со Органот за склучување на договори за Република Македонија – Европската агенција за реконструкција и Телото за координација на програмата – Секретаријатот за европски прашања, Република Македонија, бараат предлози насочени кон следниве приоритетни оски:

1. Прекугранична инфраструктура
2. Економски развој и вработување
3. Квалитет на живот/животна средина
Со финансиска поддршка од Програма на соседство меѓу Грција и Република Македонија 2004 и
2005 на Европските заедници.

Индикативни алокации на средства според географската дистрибуција се на располагање за следниве региони:
За Грција:
Западна Македонија (перфектурата Лерин), Централна Македонија (Перфектурите Солун, Кукуш и Пела).
За Република Македонија:
Општините: Охрид, Ресен, Битола, Могила, Новаци, Прилеп, Кавадарци, Демир Капија,
Валандово, Гевгелија, Богданци, Дојран, Струмица, Босилово, Ново Село, Струга, Дебарца, Вевчани, Демир Хисар, Долнени, Кривогаштани, Крушево, Неготино, Росоман, Дебар, Центар Жупа и Василево.

За Упатството за Апликанти и деталниот Повик за предлози, како и за посебните
информации за апликантите може да се консултира веб сајтот www.interreg.gr и да се
контактира Заедничкиот Технички Секретаријат.
Крајниот рок за доставување на предлозите за средствата од ERDF (за Грчки апликанти) е 21 Декември, 2006, 16:00 локално време, а за средствата од CARDS (за Македонски апликанти) е 21 Февруари, 2007, 16:00 локално време, на следнава адреса:

Joint Technical Secretariat INTERREG III
Greece - Republic of Macedonia Neighbourhood Programme
65, Leoforos Georgikis Scholis
GR-570 01 Thessaloniki, Greece

Деталниот Повик за предлози е објавен на следниов линк:
http://www.ear.eu.int/projects/projects.htm (Европската агенција за реконструкција)

Joint Call For Proposals in the framework of the Neighbourhood Programme - Republic of Greece - Republic of Macedonia

2006-11-27T11:57:00.000+01:00

http://www.sep.gov.mk/portal/mak/tenderi/Neighbourhood-pgm-RM-RG.pdf

Romania in EU?

2006-11-13T15:17:00.000+01:00

The European Commission Progress Report on Republic of Macedonia handed over

2006-11-09T12:57:00.000+01:00

The European Commission welcomes the reforms achieved in Macedonia in the last year, however it notes to the Government that it should speed up the judicial and internal affairs reforms and to reinforce the measures for fight against organised crime and corruption. This is indicated in the European Commission Progress Report on Republic of Macedonia in the EU accession process, which was published on 8 November 2006.
“Republic of Macedonia has continued to make progress over the past year – since the granting of candidate status a year ago – but at a slower pace”, the Enlargement Commissioner, Olli Rehn during today’s presentation of the EC Report. The report also states that the Parliamentary Elections might be one of the reasons for the slower implementation of the reforms.
The Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the Republic of Macedonia, Erwan Fouéré has officially handed over the European Commission’s report to the Government of Republic of Macedonia.
“This Report gives the indication on what we should focus in future, what are the weaknesses that we should concentrate on, what we should do, and where we need to pay more attention. And that is what we are going to do”, outlined Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, after the handover of the Report. He also pointed out that Government will analyse the Report and subsequently express its position.
According to the Ambassador Fouéré the Report reflects the progress that has been achieved by Macedonia in the past 12 months. “This report is based on rigorous objective assessment of the progress achieved and also it is encouragement to the country to pursue the reform and to redouble its effort in order to bring the country further on the way towards EU accession”, Fouéré said.
“The Report gives a realistic reflection of the conditions, and it will provide the positive framework within which the Government will position its priorities for the upcoming period, so that in 2007 we can show results on the issues that have been raised in the Report”, the Deputy Prime Minister responsible for European Affairs, Gabriela Konevska Trajkovska said.
Konevska-Trajkovska referred to certain issues which have been raised in the Report. In the area of political criteria, she emphasised the fight against corruption, public administration, and the issues of political dialogue. In respect to the criteria for adoption of the acquis communautaire, a focus on the implementation of the strategic documents and law enforcement is needed. A special emphasis was given to the harmonisation in the area of electronic communications – liberalisation of telecommunications, which is also a priority in the implementation of the Stabilisation and association Agreement.
The documents are attached at the following links:
Progress report on the Republic of Macedonia [en]
EU Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2006 – 2007[en]
Extract from the Conclusions of the EC's Report to the European Parliament and the Council - Startegy for Enlargement and main Chalenges 2006-2007 [mk]