The reform processes essential for North Macedonia’s EU integration must encompass transparency in public financial management, the use of digitalisation and artificial intelligence as tools to reduce corruption, systematic tracking and open data on public assets, enhanced institutional accountability and integrity, evidence-based policymaking, and continuity and motivation of human resources in public administration.
This was the key conclusion of the 6th session of Working Group 6 – Anti-Corruption (covering Chapter 5 – Public Procurement, Chapter 18 – Statistics, and Chapter 32 – Financial Control) held on 17 July 2025 at the Club of Members of Parliament in Skopje, under the title “Administrative Capacities to Improve the Value of Public Spending: What Can We Learn from EU Experiences?”
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“A competent, accountable, and service-oriented public administration—free from political influence and working in the citizens’ interest—is not only crucial for EU integration but also for the internal development of the country,” stated Goran Minchev, Minister for Public Administration.
In his opening address, Minister Minchev highlighted that the establishment of a dedicated ministry for public administration marks the beginning of a new phase in reforming the administration to become more professional and modern—an essential pillar of the EU accession process. He announced several legislative initiatives aimed at depoliticising the administration, preventing corruption, and increasing accountability as a means of restoring public trust.
The debate allowed for comparative insights from EU member states. Adam Marek, Director of Slovakia’s Value for Money Division at the Ministry of Finance, presented Slovakia’s experience, emphasizing the need not only for a professional administration but also for in-depth analysis of how public money is spent.
“State projects must not only be lawful, but they must also deliver real value for citizens,” said Marek, adding that based on cost-benefit analyses, public institutions should assess whether projects are worth pursuing or should be scaled down or discontinued.
The session opened up a constructive expert debate on improving public spending through stronger institutional capacities and on how EU good practices can be adapted locally.
Dragan Tevdovski, NCEU-MK expert and professor at the Faculty of Economics in Skopje, stressed that administration can be motivated if professionals are given the space to contribute from their area of expertise.
Dragan Tilev, Advisor to the Minister for European Affairs, underlined that EU integration requires political, administrative, and financial capacities. He argued that political capacity must be built within the parties themselves by training professionals familiar with EU structures and institutional functioning. This would allow them to participate directly in the work of over 350 EU committees, 150 Council bodies (where North Macedonia still cannot participate but can follow and be briefed), more than 35 EU agencies, and around 40 EU programs—though currently, the country only makes use of the IPA III program.
Administrative capacity, he added, requires continuity—long-term commitment of knowledge and experience in policy implementation. As for financial capacity, Tilev emphasized reliance on national resources (taxes and the budget), noting that EU funds can only be accessed with well-prepared and mature projects.
“With the Growth Plan, we could attract up to €250 million annually, but only if we have ready-to-implement infrastructure projects and capable institutions. Otherwise, we risk losing those funds, just like we already lost €140 million due to unimplemented grants,” he warned.
Aleksandar Krzhalovski, Executive Director of the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC), pointed out the need for more staff within political parties, noting that there are only 26 employed across all parties—including support staff—while civil society employs around 2,000 people. He argued that opposition parties should build capacity to monitor the work of the government as a form of “shadow governance.”
The dialogue focused on how to strengthen administrative capacity for systematic planning of public expenditures and improving implementation of public investments. Gligor Bishev, President of the Fiscal Council, noted that substantial reforms are needed—even though they are difficult and time-consuming.
“Without an effective state, there is no skilled workforce, no innovation, no infrastructure. Countries that can deliver these get prosperity and access to the integration process. This has always been the EU’s approach,” he stated.
Sanja Madzarevic-Sujster, Senior Economist at the World Bank for the Western Balkans and North Macedonia, said that effective tools are needed to monitor government expenditures and reprioritise spending. She emphasised strengthening analytical capacities in institutions and presented a proposed staffing model for the Ministry of Finance.
Biljana Ivanovska, former president of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (SCPC), stressed the need to eliminate unproductive spending. She highlighted the importance of results-based oversight and accountability and referenced SCPC recommendations and state audit reports that identify systemic weaknesses.
“Earning money requires effort, but managing it demands responsibility,” she said, pointing to the paradox in the public sector—overstaffing in some areas and lack of expertise in others, coupled with abuse of temporary contracts where full privileges are given without corresponding accountability.
Panelists emphasized the need for an institutional culture based on data. Antoni Peshev, representing the business sector, offered strong criticism:
“North Macedonia is nowhere near what it wants or needs to be. If we joined the EU tomorrow, we’d be totally unprepared,” he said, attributing this to a lack of long-term vision, leading to resource misallocation and damage to the economy.
In the final segment, Viktor Mitevski, Coordinator of Working Group 6 and Executive Director of the Association for Research and Analysis ZMAI, presented the draft recommendations, which include:
- Institutionalising the “value for money” principle,
- Training and networking public administration staff,
- Using data in budget planning,
- Supporting independent analysis of public spending,
- Introducing performance indicators in public institutions.
These recommendations will be finalised and shared with relevant institutions.
Concluding the session, Mileva Gjurovska, National Coordinator of the Convention, said that the dialogue among stakeholders is expected to contribute to establishing a transparent and sustainable public spending system that reduces corruption risks. She reaffirmed that the National Convention will continue to contribute to democratising the EU negotiation process.
The session reaffirmed the need for a systemic approach to improving public spending and institutional accountability. EU examples show that strong mechanisms for analysis and evaluation significantly increase the value of public money and reduce corruption risks.
Finally, outgoing Slovak Ambassador Henrik Markus addressed the forum and was formally recognised for his key contributions to Macedonia’s EU integration over the past eight years. He supported a comparative model of dialogue and helped transfer Slovakia’s experience, both institutionally and financially, through the Slovak Embassy, strengthening the work of the National Convention.
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