Macedonia: improving democracy

Date: 27/04/06

Macedonia is the newest candidate for membership of the EU. Granted that status at last December's European Council, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), as the European Commission refers to it, is on its way to fulfilling the political criteria for membership, that of being recognised as a functioning democracy, with stable institutions. But the opening of entry talks is still some way off, with further reforms needed.

An immediate concern is the electoral process. The Commission judged that the 2005 local elections presented some "serious irregularities". The next elections are scheduled for July 2006.

The Commission expects "that the next elections will be organised [to] democratic standards", said Krizstina Nagy, spokeswoman for Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn.

Erwan Fouere, head of the Commission's delegation in Skopje and EU special representative, said: "The entire EU is going to be watching this election. We are confident that FYROM will deliver a result on time. This is an election that they will look back on with pride."

Macedonia must also improve its legal system, with the efficiency and independence of the judiciary a particular worry. Lucia Montanaro-Jankovski, researcher for the European Policy Centre, points to "a huge backlog of court cases, corruption and an excessive executive influence in court". For Nicholas Whyte, of the International Crisis Group, "the problem with [the] judicial system goes deeper than corruption: it is about problems of competence, about incorrect understanding of the law".

The Commission has already pointed out that "efforts to improve the independence and efficiency of the judiciary [...] must be sustained". Fouere said that there were changes afoot. "Draft laws are currently being proposed to the government," he said. "Once implemented, they will strengthen the independence of the judiciary and will hopefully free the judiciary from political pressure."

Macedonia's economic preparedness is arguably worse than its political readiness. It has made efforts to establish a functioning market economy but still suffers from institutional weaknesses.

The country needs to become more business-friendly, improving financial markets and domestic and foreign investment. It also needs to bring more economic activity out of the grey and black markets, to be regulated and taxed properly. Fouere said that corruption was deterring foreign investors.

A spokesman from the EU integration department of Macedonia's ministry of economy said that new measures were being taken, including "better control of the market and of companies, creation of new departments in related fields and changes to the law. The FYROM is taking initiatives and making significant steps in order to meet the criteria".

The Commission has repeatedly raised concern about corruption. "The level of corruption remains high and affects many aspects of the economic, social and political life of the country. The effectiveness of the fight against corruption therefore needs far more strengthening", it said last year.

The Commission's view is that "zero tolerance is the only policy that will work".

Experts do, however, concede that the level of corruption is not as high as in other Balkan countries. "Corruption is there, but it is not specific to the FYROM. It is an illness of the entire region," said Montanaro-Jankovski.

Entry talks will only be opened with Macedonia when it has reached "a sufficient degree of compliance", the Commission has said.

The Commission will present a report to the European Council at the end of 2006 on Macedonia's progress.

Article takes a look at Macedonia's preparedness for accession to the EU. The country was the latest to be accepted as a candidate but political and economic criteria were yet to be fulfilled for accession negotiations to commence.
Article is part of a European Voice Special Report, 'EU enlargement'.

European Commission: DG Enlargement: Relations with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/detailed-country-information/fyrom/index_en.htm

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