Publisher: Аналитика Тинк-тенк Организација

Migration and Development in Albania and Macedonia: the effects of remittances on education and health of family members left behind

Migration and Development in Albania and Macedonia: the effects of remittances on education and health of family members left behind

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Albania; Macedonia; migration; education; health; finance;

Albania and Macedonia as traditionally migrant sending countries have experienced unprecedented migration and the end of this process is not in sight, it continues unabated. Emigration is reshaping Albania and Macedonia affecting local politics, economies and priorities, including the education and health of the family members left behind. As regards the effect of migration and remittances on education and health outcomes, the focus on Albania and Macedonia is crucial as there has been year on year low schooling and low health outputs in both of these countries. Children’s school attendance rates and literacy rates as well as health status are relatively low, leaving significant room for improvements in educational attainment and healthcare. The education might be publicly provided, however many families cannot afford to pay for it for their members due to several expenses related to school attendance such as transport, textbooks, supplies, or other implicit costs such as losses in family members with the migration. The importance of migration and of remittances for the migrant sending countries is measured also by the well-being of their recipients in terms of improved health status and in particular the health of the children. Remittances in volumes are high, and have become an increasing source of household income. Very interesting question is whether this increasing source of income has an impact on human capital accumulation decisions, including on schooling and healthcare. Many migrant sending families receive considerable financial transfers from their family members living and working abroad. Remittances help the population in migrant sending countries to cope with the distress of poverty, the inefficiencies of local labor markets and the break-down of the social security system.

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Macedonia’s preparations for civilian contribution to peace operations - the next big thing after the withdrawal from Afghanistan?

Macedonia’s preparations for civilian contribution to peace operations - the next big thing after the withdrawal from Afghanistan?

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Macedonia; security; peace; civilian capacities (CIVCAP); policing; media; crisis management and power sharing; legislative and institutional preparations; Afghanistan;

Probably one of the most exploited phrases by politicians from the Western Balkans when talking about issues on defense reform and international security is that the “countries from the region, from peace importers, have become peace exporters”. Over the years Macedonia has established itself as a country where that export product is mainly through military means. This policy paper aims to put the question of civilian contribution to peace operations on the agenda and advocates increased debate among policymakers and officials. It does not, however, undermine nor support a decrease in Macedonia’s military contribution. The main focus of the text is the identification of advantage areas that Macedonia has developed through the years which could be utilized in the civilian capacities (CIVCAP) model. Therefore the paper lists: 1) policing, 2) media, 3) crisis management and power sharing as Macedonia’s ready to be exported products. It also provides an insight into the ongoing legislative and institutional preparations. While legislation for contribution to peace operations by civilian means is largely in place, what seems to be lacking is a strategic turn towards more civilian contribution. This therefore produces many unknowns about civilian participation among policymakers still making it sound very remote.

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Macedonia’s Lagging Behind in Efficient Usage of EU Funds (IPA, Framework Programmes) – Analytica’s Analysis

Macedonia’s Lagging Behind in Efficient Usage of EU Funds (IPA, Framework Programmes) – Analytica’s Analysis

Author(s): Sonja Risteska / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; EU funds; modernization and development; IPA; Structural Funds; Research Framework Programmes; financial agreements; economic development; sustainable growth;

The progress regarding to Chapter 22 from the acquis communautaire which is connected to the regional policy and coordination of structural instruments, is crucial for the EU candidate and potential candidate countries in becoming proficient in European affairs. Different types of funds are provided by the EU for decades now to help regions that are lagging behind in their modernization and development. In order to take a full advantage of the benefits that IPA and later on the Structural Funds provide, the countries will have to keep on with the reforms and create an effective and properly functioning institutional and legislative system as well as an appropriate administrative capacity that will be able to successfully manage these funds. Apart from the IPA and the Structural Funds there are also other EU Funding Opportunities as the Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation, open for research organizations and SME’s from all over the world. EU’s main idea behind this is that “in an open global economy, competitiveness lies in the capacity of businesses to create high value-added goods and services. A move towards innovation-based sustainable growth is therefore at the heart of the EU's response to globalisation.”

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How Far is Macedonia in Fulfilling the Requirements Under the Energy Chapter of the Acquis?

How Far is Macedonia in Fulfilling the Requirements Under the Energy Chapter of the Acquis?

Author(s): Sonja Risteska,Nataša Hroneska / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; EU integration; EU regulations; EU Acquis; energy; energy market; energy efficiency; renewable energy; nuclear energy; Energy; Community Treaty for Southeast Europe; Energy Law;

Macedonia’s progress under Chapter 15 of the EU Acquis - Energy has been somewhat inconsistent over the past few years. The reforms of the energy sector are high on the Macedonian government’s agenda although their implementation started only in 2005/2006, in particular with the entering into force of the Energy Community Treaty for Southeast Europe (ECTSEE) in 2005. According to the ECTSEE’s rules member countries have to align their legislation in energy with the EU’s regulations. Therefore the reform process that started in Macedonia in 2005 has been partly successful, but it is ongoing process will most likely accelerate in the following years. The possibilities of having sustainable energy production from other alternative energy sources, such as hydro, wind, biomass or solar energy, which have a high potential for exploitation and energy production, are still there, ready to be explored. This report will investigate the positive developments and setbacks of the reforms in the energy sector in Macedonia since 2005. It will serve as a guide into what has been done so far, in which areas progress has been slower or reversed, which areas have great potential for development and what lies ahead in the development of the country’s energy market.

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Implementing Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Measures – are Southeast European Countries on track? Barriers, Positive Examples, Proposed Measures and Policies

Implementing Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Measures – are Southeast European Countries on track? Barriers, Positive Examples, Proposed Measures and Policies

Author(s): Sonja Risteska,Nataša Hroneska / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; EU integration; EU regulations; energy; energy policy; energy sector; energy efficiency; renewable energy; Energy Law; Energy Community; energy efficiency measures;

Energy efficiency (EE) is a vital part of every country’s energy policy. All countries strive to establish an energy system that will enable balanced development of environmental protection, the competitiveness of the market and the security of energy supply. But the uncertain global energy market and the poor use of indigenous energy resources make it difficult to build a sustainable energy system in Macedonia. Remaining highly dependent on energy, without proper implementation of energy efficiency, the overall success of energy development is at stake. Macedonia as a country member of the Energy Community and a candidate for EU membership needs to keep up the pace with the other countries of South Eastern Europe when it comes to reforms of the energy sector. However, implementation of reforms is one of the main problems in Macedonia. According to a study conducted by Analytica in February, Macedonia is seriously lagging behind in the implementation of reforms in the energy sector, including the implementation of energy efficiency measures at the national and local levels.

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Natural Gas – an Energy Necessity for Macedonia: Overview of the Macedonian Energy Potential

Natural Gas – an Energy Necessity for Macedonia: Overview of the Macedonian Energy Potential

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; energy; natural gas; infrastructure for gasification; energy independence; energy stability and sustainability; gas market; legal framework;

Despite the growing importance of Southeast Europe (SEE) in the new map of natural gas pipelines, the natural gas as an energy resource is underused in the wider region of SEE. In Macedonia only one percent of the total energy consumption comes from natural gas and there is also a lack of developed infrastructure for large scale gasification of the industrial capacities and the households. With this, Macedonia and other countries of the region risk increasing their energy dependencies to imported energy sources, which is unsustainable on long term. Taking the above said as a starting point, this report advocates the stance that in the time of energy crisis, price turbulences on the global oil market, and electricity import dependence, natural gas is the most favorable energy option for achieving long-term energy stability and sustainability in SEE and specifically in Macedonia. By giving a comprehensive analysis of the natural gas market in Macedonia as a case study for the region of SEE, we aim to underline the importance of the natural gas for the energy future of the country and the region.

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Gas Pipelines and Regional Challenges: Assessment of the Macedonian Role in the SEE Natural Gas Market

Gas Pipelines and Regional Challenges: Assessment of the Macedonian Role in the SEE Natural Gas Market

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; natural gas; energy; gas market; energy crisis; geopolitics; energy stability; energy policy; transporting gas; transport routes; gas pipelines;

Today, we live in an “era of energy” when most of the political debates are directed towards ensuring the availability and security of supply of energy. Across the world, the countries are caught in the grip with the raising energy demand and prices. On the European continent the energy crisis and debate over energy security and sustainability are concentrated on two issues: the high dependence on energy import and the increasing need for diversification of the energy sources. The current debate is all about the geopolitics of supply of the natural gas, as leading energy source and the pillar of the energy stability in the continent. A decade ago, the European Commission has adopted several important documents concerning measures that safeguard the security of natural gas supply and regulate the internal natural gas market. The most recent one, the Energy Policy of EU from 2007 has projected that even with the current targets on energy efficiency and renewables, oil and natural gas will still continue to meet half of the EU’s energy needs, with the import of natural gas exceeding 80% by 2030. Moreover, taking into consideration that the electricity generation in EU remains heavily dependent on natural gas, the 2007 Energy Policy reaffirms the security of supply of natural gas as a paramount for Europe’s security and economy. The other important part of the EU energy strategy concerning natural gas is the diversification of its energy sources. In order to diminish the role and the political influence of Russia as the biggest supplier of Europe with natural gas, EU has turned to find new sources and best transit routes to transport the natural gas to Europe, at the same time avoiding Russian territory.

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Composting in Macedonia – Sound Alternative or Just a Rotten Idea?

Composting in Macedonia – Sound Alternative or Just a Rotten Idea?

Author(s): Karolina Pendovska / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; composting; biowaste; solid waste; waste with organic origin; waste management; waste collection system; agriculture; greenhouse gases; policy framework;

In the European Union (EU) with 497 million inhabitants, biowaste accounts for 30-45% of the municipal solid waste (MSW). While in Macedonia, a country with only two million inhabitants has biowaste percentages near the percentage of the EU - 26.2%. In Macedonia biowaste includes waste materials with organic (animal and vegetal) origin, like household waste, then restaurants, canteens food waste and green markets waste, as well as in the rural municipalities, agricultural wastes, wastes from livestock activities, gardening wastes and forest residues. Due to the high water content, high density (except for green waste which has low density) and the high putrescibility of this waste stream, it is crucial to be involved in integrated, sustainable waste management. The MSW and its biowaste stream produced in Macedonia is landfilled (at official landfills) and dumped at thousands of illegal dumpsites. Furthermore, there is no separate collection of biowastes, only separate collection of paper as biowaste is realized by the communal enterprises. Additionally, the rural communities with main agricultural activities do not have official waste collection systems. The treatment of the agriculture wastes depend solely on the treatment practices of the farms. Because the agriculture sector in Macedonia lacks the Good Farming Practice (GFP), non compliance to basic technical and environmental requirements is often the case with the macedonian farms. This leads to pollution of soils, water courses and emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) on the long run.

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Renewable Energy in Macedonia – Focus on ‘Green’ Electricity Production

Renewable Energy in Macedonia – Focus on ‘Green’ Electricity Production

Author(s): Nataša Hroneska / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; renewable energy; green energy; green electricity production; sustainable development; International Energy Agency; EU energy policy; EU legislation; CO2 reduction;

In future, beside the level of energy consumption as a parameter for the economic growth of a country, the capacity and capability for introducing renewable energies will become an important criterion for the level of the sustainable development of the countries. At the end of September 2008 the International Energy Agency (IEA) has called for a major boost in renewable energy use, estimating that until the middle of the century nearly 50 percent of global electricity supplies will have to come from renewable energy sources. These ambitious objectives require government action for unprecedented political commitment and effective policy design and implementation. As a part of the overall EU energy policy for energy mix achieving the objectives of security of supply, competitiveness and sustainable development, in the last decade the countries of the European Union have strategically moved towards promotion of energy production from renewable energy sources. The major achievement in the area of renewable energies has been the introducement of the renewable energy sources for electricity production in EU. Starting with the White Paper on Renewable Energy almost a decade ago, the member states have set binding targets for renewable energy. This policy mechanism has allowed for an increased market penetration of electricity produced from renewable energy sources and since then the promotion of electricity produced from RES is a high Community priority, ambitiously targeting the 22 percent of electricity produced from renewables until 2010.

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How to Achieve Quality Higher Education in Macedonia. Screening of the Reforms in the Higher Education Sector in Republic of Macedonia

How to Achieve Quality Higher Education in Macedonia. Screening of the Reforms in the Higher Education Sector in Republic of Macedonia

Author(s): Katarina Kreceva / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; Higher Education System; transition; reforms in education; educational institutions; European Higher Education Area; Bologna system; organisational structure of higher education sector; European Credit Transfer System (ECTS);

The Higher Education (HE) system is created to enhance the production and dissemination of knowledge, and nowadays above all, to get a hold on the new consumer good - information. Hence, latest transformations made the role of education in the overall development of societies explicitly applicable, changing the goal of knowledge from search for the truth to search for ways of augmenting power, becoming increasingly adjusted to national requirements. Contesting globalization, no country is excluded from the politico-economic trends currently transforming higher educational institutions. On the European continent this trend is unequivocally defined by aiming to establish a common European Higher Education Area, development depicted by the Bologna process and most recently by the Lisbon objectives. Republic of Macedonia as a candidate EU country is adjunct to this international agenda, additionally having national interests in implementing such objectives in context of fitting the European socio-cultural milieu.

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Wastewater Issue: High Time for Better Management – The Case of Macedonia

Wastewater Issue: High Time for Better Management – The Case of Macedonia

Author(s): Karolina Pendovska / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; water resources; wastewater; water pollution; wastewater management; environmental protection; treatment of wastewaters; water related legislation;

Globally increased industrial production, intense agriculture activities and household consumption in the last century have led to increased use of water resources. This in turn has increased the rate of production of wastewater, polluting the nearby recipients (surface waters and groundwaters). The well‐being of Earth’s natural water resources has been seriously threatened. Sustainable use of water resources and their protection, water quality and targets for achieving safe drinking water supply and basic sanitation have become more promptly addressed in the international and regional legal instruments. Reactions on the diminishing of future water resources quantity and quality are emerging on European Union (EU) level too, calling out for “water to be one of the main issues on the political agenda and integrated into all policies.”

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Is Macedonia Ready to Start Negotiations for EU Membership Regarding Chapter 27?

Is Macedonia Ready to Start Negotiations for EU Membership Regarding Chapter 27?

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; EU membership; negotiation; accession process; Chapter 27; Chapter Environment; reform process; environmental protection; air quality sector; waste management sector; water sector;

Macedonia as Western Balkan country is a challenging “bite” for the European Union (EU). This policy brief examines the integration efforts of Macedonia in the sphere of environment. Our aim is to bring different perspective in the public perceptions of the Chapter 27 as part of the EU integration processes. In times of global recession, environmental policy is often neglected as it is seen as a big spender of budget resources. Therefore, this paper aims to bring environment to the fore and focus public attention on Macedonia’s performance in the environmental sector, because of its noted substantial changes and progress. By doing this, we propose to propel a brighter view of both the state of the Macedonian environment and the progress with EU approximation. Through a comparative analysis, the brief also lays out the challenges and obstacles of the reform process in the environmental protection of the pre‐accession period of Slovakia and Croatia. As a new EU member state Slovakia was chosen in order to better identify the ways the country has dealt with the environmental barriers on the way to integration with the EU. Croatia is a current candidate state and as such shares many of the challenges Macedonia faces in the are of environment acquis approximation. Having advanced further on the road to EU membership, Croatia is a useful model for Macedonia.

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Investments in Energy – The Macedonian Case

Investments in Energy – The Macedonian Case

Author(s): Nataša Hroneska / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; energy market; investments in energy; stability and profitability of investments; energy price; investment climate; legislative framework; renewable energy sources;

Since independence at the beginning of 1990s and especially in the last several years, the most important issue to the development of the energy sector in Macedonia has been the lack of a substantial and sustainable investment model. This in turn has been reflected in the modest number of new energy capacities in the country. Most of Macedonia’s existing energy infrastructure was developed during the second half of the last century. The consequence of this investment stagnation, especially after the breakout from Yugoslavia, is a weak energy sector, overwhelmingly dependent on imports and uncompetitive in the regional energy market. Foreign investors come and go from the country. Facing different legal and administrative barriers few decide to invest, leaving many strategically important energy projects for Macedonia to wait for ‘better days’. In addition, both wholesale and individual consumers have experienced hardships in their businesses and everyday life, faced with poor energy supply, low quality transmission and distribution systems, combined with energy shortages and inefficient energy management. New capacities have been developed in the last two decades, but they are not enough to satisfy the increase in energy demand, or strengthen the energy position of Macedonia within Southeast European region.

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Regional Cooperation in Southeast Europe – The Post-Stability Pact Period

Regional Cooperation in Southeast Europe – The Post-Stability Pact Period

Author(s): Manuela Riedeland,Marnix Eichelberg,Andreja Bogdanovski / Language(s): English

Keywords: Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe; Regional Cooperation Council (RCC); security cooperation; international guidance; European and Euro-Atlantic structures; NATO;

The work of the RCC forms a successful continuation of the efforts of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. The RCC can be seen as the most comprehensive regionally owned initiative for cooperation in Southeast Europe. Even in a time of economic hardship the countries in the region have shown their willingness and competence to continue to cooperate on important issues such as economic and social development and the safeguarding of peace and security in the region. There is a prevailing willingness among the countries of Southeast Europe to take measures against the economic crisis in a coordinated fashion. The RCC functions as a forum for the shaping of policy in this field. The RCC continues to provide the SEECP with operational capacities. Among many initiatives it supports regional cooperation efforts set up to deal with problems in the field of security and defence, like SEESAC, DPPI SEE, SECE-CRIF and the RACVIAC Center. Furthermore it maintains working relations with international organizations like the UN and the EU, governments in Europe and worldwide and civil society organizations.

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Towards 2nd Generation of Security Sector Reforms in Macedonia

Towards 2nd Generation of Security Sector Reforms in Macedonia

Author(s): Andreja Bogdanovski,Magdalena Lembovska / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; Security Sector Reforms; Ministry of Defense; Intelligence Agency; Ministry of Interior; internal control; Public Internal Financial Control; legislative; multilateral security cooperation; reforms;

The peaceful dissolution from communist Yugoslavia in the 90s, together with the experiences from and after the Internal Armed Conflict in 2001 and the efforts to join EU and NATO make Macedonia an interesting case for observing how its security sector governance has evolved and whether it has actually succeeded in institutionalising good practices. This policy paper, therefore, aims at identifying the trends and the main challenges for governance of Macedonia’s security sector for the period 2009 - 2012 in three arenas: externally (through the Parliament), internally (through the executive control) and lastly, the control over the spending of public funds. The authors of this publication try to illuminate the stage to which Macedonia has progressed in the implementation of the second generation of Security Sector Reforms identified by Timothy Edmunds as “the consolidation of previous reforms, and the effective and efficient operation of institutions and procedures at a sustainable cost for the state and society.”

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Education Outcomes from Migration and Remittances in Albania and Macedonia

Education Outcomes from Migration and Remittances in Albania and Macedonia

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Migration; education; remittances; Albania; North Macedonia; school attainment; education policy; gender balance education; gender inequality;

This study looks at the impact of migration and remittances on the educational outcomes of the children left behind. The paper analyses this impact by examining the cases of Albania and Macedonia, countries that have experienced substantial outward migration. The paper tests the hypothesis of whether migration and remittances have a positive effect on the children's education. To test this hypothesis and the mechanism by which migration and remittances affect children’s schooling, empirical specifications were used, including a fixed effect model and an ordered probit model, which analysed the effect of parental remittances and migration experience on the educational level of children generally and for girls’ and boys’ education levels separately. The study uses the most recent empirical surveys conducted in Albania and Macedonia that gathered information on the socio-demographic characteristics of children, migration by household members, household income and expenditures, as well as remittances and their allocation to household consumption. The paper shows that parental experiences of migration have an important effect on the educational attainment of children in both Albania and Macedonia, whereas remittances only have a significant effect on the education status of children in Albania. The results of this study demonstrate that, in the case of Albania, having a migrant parent and remittances more positively affect the education of girls than of boys. This difference in the case of Macedonia is insignificant. The main message for policy makers is that providing a more gender balanced education supply would reduce gender inequalities in terms of years of schooling and educational attainment.

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Impact of Migration on Child Growth in Albania and Macedonia

Impact of Migration on Child Growth in Albania and Macedonia

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Migration; Remittances; Albania; Macedonia; Child health; Children growth; Obesity;

Albania and Macedonia are two Western Balkan countries that are characterised by high emigration and remittance dependency rates that appear to have affected the development of these countries across different socio-economic and cultural dimensions. Child growth in particular is one of these important outcomes. This paper uses a survey administered to mothers in Albania and Macedonia to investigate whether migration and remittances have had any impact on child growth in these countries. Child growth indicators, such as body mass index, weight, height, stunting and obesity dummies, together with child health inputs, such as the frequency of visiting the doctor, chronic diseases and reasons for not going to the doctor, are used as left-hand side variables. The paper finds that while migration has led to less stunting and increased height in Albania, in Macedonia, it seems to have led to increased weight and body mass index values and more obesity. These findings imply that exposure to international migration can have different consequences for these countries as Albania appears to have realised improvements in height and stature, while Macedonia has suffered from increased weight associated with increases in obesity.

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Progress in the Europeanization of the Security Sector in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia

Progress in the Europeanization of the Security Sector in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia

Author(s): Foto Duro,Arjan Dyrmishi,Magdalena Lembovska,Florian Qehaja,Fjolla Raifi,Mentor Vrajolli / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; Albania; Kosovo; security sector; NATO membership; EU membership; Stabilisation and Accession Process; visa liberalisation; defense and military reform;

The EU aspiration pushed the Western Balkan states towards wide-range reforms, and the issue of security sector in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia is one of the main issues where many international external actors have been broadly included. Since both NATO and EU memberships are inter-related in 2003 NATO and EU decided to work on a joint strategic approach for security and stability for the region. The main focus of external influences in reforming the security system are NATO and EU membership focused on Stabilization and Association Process (SAP) and Visa Liberalization process. While NATO highly focuses on defense and military reform, the efforts of EU institutions present in these countries are focused in governance issues and police reform. As the three countries expressed political will to enter the process of integration, the EU has offered and been involved in the process of as we refer to in this paper “europeanization” of security structures, and governance. EU however tends to see the security sector from a broader perspective which often implies the vast number of areas under the "rule of law" framework. Hence it is case with this publication which evaluates hollistically the progress made in the different segments of rule of law of the three countries of the region.

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"The Enlargement of the EU to Balkans" – Policy Reports that shaped the policies and debate on European integration of Balkans

"The Enlargement of the EU to Balkans" – Policy Reports that shaped the policies and debate on European integration of Balkans

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Western Balkans; Stabilization and Accession Process; EU integration; European financial assistance; national governments; peace; stability; development; EU policy towards Balkans;

Today, western Balkans states are a long way from where they were at the beginning of the decade. The Stabilization and Association process, which has just started in 2000, is almost completed as all the states have negotiated and signed the Stabilization and Association Agreements with the EU, the EU is negotiating visa liberalization agreements and all states are entitled to the new pre-accession financial assistance IPA, designed to address the strategic needs of the region. This progress, apart from the persistent efforts of the national governments and the EU administration, is also partly due to the visionary policy reports and recommendations of people and organizations working on the Balkans. We are convinced that their commitment to the region and the ability to look beyond the limitations of the immediate political context for lasting solutions makes them an irreplaceable item on every reading-list of both those who wish to study the Balkan region and those who aim to produce similar such reports addressing the present dilemmas and challenges for the western Balkan states. “The Enlargement of the EU to Balkans” is a compilation of four reports on the Balkans published since 2000. They all concern the Balkan region and its prospects for the future – away from violent legacies towards peace, stability and European integration. As such, they are a valuable source for all those interested in and studying the recent political developments in this region, for these reports give an overview of the challenges that Balkans states faced on the start of their journey to European integration. We hope this collection of reports will become part of the curricula of schools and departments where Balkan politics, history and EU integration are taught. From the multitude of reports, books and other works written on the Balkans, the reports that follow were not chosen accidentally. Rather, we aimed to include the most influential reports, those which had the greatest impact on the EU and international community’s approach towards the Balkans, those with the most valuable recommendations concerning the features of EU’s policy towards the Balkans. The results of in-depth field research and analysis of diplomatic relations in the region, these reports provided the most credible assistance to the European and other policy-makers when faced with the dilemma ‘how to deal with postconflict post-Milosevic Balkans?’ By publishing their reports again, we also like to pay tribute to those people and organizations that made their most for Balkans to be found in EU integration map.

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Strengthening the Role of RIA in the Policy-Making Process in Macedonia

Strengthening the Role of RIA in the Policy-Making Process in Macedonia

Author(s): Agim Selami / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA); policy-making process; policy impact; integrating RIA; international organisations; strategic reforms; law-making standards;

Governments of different countries throughout the world are encountering a trend of increasing quantities of regulation. This trend, understandably, is more visible in countries with unconsolidated democracies, where beside the problem of the large quantity of existing regulation, an additional concern is its quality, its synchronization with current circumstances in society, and the effects it produces. Approving new regulations, or analyzing existing ones, should have a single goal: solving problems within a certain field for the direct stakeholders as well as for the whole of society. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to carry out a detailed analysis of the problem that is being addressed, to identify regulatory or non-regulatory solutions, and, most importantly, to determine the most appropriate solution in terms of budget so that it does not cause additional fiscal implications. Addressing these questions can most precisely be achieved through the preparation of a document on Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA).

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