Macedonia guide
|
| © New Internationalist |
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia achieved independence in relative peace, but with a legacy of serious social, economic, political and ethnic problems. Nationalism continues to poison relationships between the Macedonian ethnic communities, undermining economic and political development. Membership of the European Union is viewed too readily as a panacea, given the diminishing enthusiasm amongst existing members for further short term enlargement.
updated February 2009
Poverty in Macedonia
Independence in 1991 from the former Yugoslavia has not yet brought prosperity to Macedonia. The shock of transition from a traditional socialist economy to free market capitalism reduced GDP by 50% within five years. Successive privatisations of state-owned businesses created mass unemployment for which replacement industries and services have yet to emerge. Macedonia remains classified as a lower middle income country.
The proportion of the workforce enjoying formal employment is only half of the average in the European Union (EU). The rate of unemployment has remained stubbornly above 30% since 1994. In 2008 it was 35%, with deep regional and ethnic variations. Over 60% of men and over 80% of women from the disadvantaged minority Roma community have never held a job in the formal economy, according to Amnesty International’s 2008 submission to the UN. More efforts are in hand to assist the Roma, who comprise 2.5% of the population, to overcome discrimination in the provision of documentation necessary to gain access to employment and to health and education services.
Although an extensive informal economy renders data unreliable, in 2006 30% of the population were living below the poverty line, assessed as 70% of median income. Almost the entire Roma community falls into this category. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for Macedonia stipulate a target of 9.5% below the poverty line, an ambition which looks unlikely to be achieved by 2015. Macedonia has no formal Poverty Reduction Strategy but will need to demonstrate effective policies to assist disadvantaged sectors of the population as part of its application to join the EU.
In other respects Macedonia has made reasonable progress so that prospects for achieving the Goals are broadly sound. For example, thanks to the provision of a universal healthcare system, health indicators are good and life expectancy is high by regional standards. Gender issues are relatively forward apart from concerns for widely unreported domestic violence. Women gained 30% of seats in the 2008 parliamentary election.
A mid-term progress report for the MDGs was promised for early 2009.
Climate Change in Macedonia
It seems increasingly likely that climate change will impose a permanent brake on Macedonia’s social and economic development. Projections focus on the summer months which will see rising temperatures and declining rainfall. In some regions rainfall may reduce by 40% by 2050. As a consequence, yields from agricultural produce are estimated to fall by varying but significant degrees; wheat for example by 17%. Rising temperatures add to the risk of forest fires, a tangible threat in light of the severe conflagrations experienced in 2007.
Adaptation plans to deal with climate change will focus on conservation of water and soil together with the use of seed varieties capable of withstanding drier conditions. On a single day in November 2008, the entire population was encouraged to mobilise in planting 6 million trees, partly to replace those lost in the fires.
Macedonia has no obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the current Kyoto Protocol but there may be scope for mitigation through conversion from coal to gas in power generation. However, the country will be more concerned to meet the increasing demand for electricity which is projected to grow by at least 3% pa until 2025. Depending on the success of any mitigation efforts, total emissions may increase by up to 71% by that date.
Conflict in Macedonia
Hopes of EU membership are dependent on evidence that Macedonia can bring to an end its history of nationalism and lack of respect for the rights of minorities which brought the country to the brink of civil war in 2001. The most serious threat to stability lies in the tense relations between the Slav majority and ethnic Albanians who comprise 25% of the population.
Prior to 2001, this Albanian minority suffered discrimination and exclusion from the political mechanisms of the state which eventually led to violence in the province of Tetovo. The intervention of NATO defused hostilities, and the opposing parties signed the Ohrid Agreement which underpinned an improvement in minority rights. The subsequent 2004 Territorial Organization Act creates greater powers of local governance to ethnic Albanians, a key condition for continuing EU negotiations.
The anxiety of the international community reflected in the Ohrid Agreement is not confined to the internal stability of Macedonia. There are fears that any dislocation in neighbouring Kosovo’s declaration of independence could inspire a militant alliance between the Kosovan and Macedonian Albanians, potentially bringing violence to the northwestern regions of the country.
A further barrier to EU entry is the political dispute between Macedonia and Greece over the name of the new country. A border province in Greece is also called Macedonia and the Greeks fear that confusion between the regions could ultimately lead to secession. In spite of exhaustive attempts throughout 2008 by the UN Mediator, Matthew Nimetz, to identify a name acceptable to both parties, the Greeks carried out their threat to veto Macedonia’s application to join NATO. This action prompted Macedonia to request the International Court of Justice to rule on its legality. For the time being, the country is formally known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Politics in Macedonia
Having been granted Candidate status, the dream of EU accession dominates the business of government in Macedonia. To meet the entry requirements, the country has to demonstrate greater respect for human rights, peaceful relations with neighbouring countries, proportional representation of minorities in state mechanisms and the adoption of European values and laws.
Unfortunately, the immature democracy in Macedonia is doing little to calm the nerves of international observers concerned about ethnic division. Poor relations between the political parties have disrupted parliamentary proceedings over recent years, in one instance ending in fisticuffs. The consequence was a stern lecture by Ollie Rehn, EU Commissioner for Enlargement, to the effect that irresponsible political behaviour was holding up essential reforms.
This parliamentary logjam, together with frustration over the NATO debacle, encouraged the prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, to call an early election in June 2008. However, violence and intimidation at polling stations in parts of the ethnic Albanian northwest of the country forced some of the international observers to flee their posts. The poll had to be repeated under heavy police presence and the OSCE was obliged to report that “as a whole” the election failed to reach appropriate standards.
Gruevski is leader of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party and his “Coalition for a better Macedonia” was ultimately successful in gaining over 60 seats in the 120-seat sobranie parliament. The ethnic Albanian vote is largely split between bitter rivals, the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) and the larger Democratic Union of Integration (DUI).
Elections for the president of Macedonia will be held in March 2009. Although the role is largely ceremonial, observers will be anxious that the voting is conducted in an orderly fashion.
Although numerous civil society organisations have been encouraged to form since independence, they lack deep roots within the community. Neither government nor the general public is entirely comfortable with the sector and efforts are under way to establish more permanent and constructive dialogue with the central government.
Human Rights and Media in Macedonia
The human rights component of the requirements for EU membership demands improvements in the criminal justice system, from police procedures to the independence of the judiciary. Amnesty International has also pointed out that the delivery of fair, adequate and impartial trials for minorities, such as the Roma, is unlikely, given the pervasive culture of discrimination. This cannot be remedied until effective anti-discrimination legislation is in place.
Institutional weaknesses also create space for corruption in Macedonia which negatively affects its development process. Although this problem is assessed to be less serious than in other countries of former Yugoslavia, an entrenched network of government officials, businessmen, judges, and politicians are responsible, reducing the credibility of the state and further alienating its citizens.
Macedonia has recently become the first wireless country. With the installation of a low cost wireless broadband network, schools, universities and remote villages can connect to the internet at a low cost. This development, known as Macedonia Connects, has the potential to create a new public space in which local populations can link up with users from other countries in a parallel cyber-civil society.
The OneWorld Macedonia Guide was first published in this format in December 2005 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Emmanouil Vrentzos
|
| Macedonian students launch wireless Internet network © Academy for Educational Development |
The proportion of the workforce enjoying formal employment is only half of the average in the European Union (EU). The rate of unemployment has remained stubbornly above 30% since 1994. In 2008 it was 35%, with deep regional and ethnic variations. Over 60% of men and over 80% of women from the disadvantaged minority Roma community have never held a job in the formal economy, according to Amnesty International’s 2008 submission to the UN. More efforts are in hand to assist the Roma, who comprise 2.5% of the population, to overcome discrimination in the provision of documentation necessary to gain access to employment and to health and education services.
Although an extensive informal economy renders data unreliable, in 2006 30% of the population were living below the poverty line, assessed as 70% of median income. Almost the entire Roma community falls into this category. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for Macedonia stipulate a target of 9.5% below the poverty line, an ambition which looks unlikely to be achieved by 2015. Macedonia has no formal Poverty Reduction Strategy but will need to demonstrate effective policies to assist disadvantaged sectors of the population as part of its application to join the EU.
In other respects Macedonia has made reasonable progress so that prospects for achieving the Goals are broadly sound. For example, thanks to the provision of a universal healthcare system, health indicators are good and life expectancy is high by regional standards. Gender issues are relatively forward apart from concerns for widely unreported domestic violence. Women gained 30% of seats in the 2008 parliamentary election.
A mid-term progress report for the MDGs was promised for early 2009.
Climate Change in Macedonia
It seems increasingly likely that climate change will impose a permanent brake on Macedonia’s social and economic development. Projections focus on the summer months which will see rising temperatures and declining rainfall. In some regions rainfall may reduce by 40% by 2050. As a consequence, yields from agricultural produce are estimated to fall by varying but significant degrees; wheat for example by 17%. Rising temperatures add to the risk of forest fires, a tangible threat in light of the severe conflagrations experienced in 2007.
Adaptation plans to deal with climate change will focus on conservation of water and soil together with the use of seed varieties capable of withstanding drier conditions. On a single day in November 2008, the entire population was encouraged to mobilise in planting 6 million trees, partly to replace those lost in the fires.
Macedonia has no obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the current Kyoto Protocol but there may be scope for mitigation through conversion from coal to gas in power generation. However, the country will be more concerned to meet the increasing demand for electricity which is projected to grow by at least 3% pa until 2025. Depending on the success of any mitigation efforts, total emissions may increase by up to 71% by that date.
Conflict in Macedonia
|
| Macedonian troops © Alex smailes |
Prior to 2001, this Albanian minority suffered discrimination and exclusion from the political mechanisms of the state which eventually led to violence in the province of Tetovo. The intervention of NATO defused hostilities, and the opposing parties signed the Ohrid Agreement which underpinned an improvement in minority rights. The subsequent 2004 Territorial Organization Act creates greater powers of local governance to ethnic Albanians, a key condition for continuing EU negotiations.
The anxiety of the international community reflected in the Ohrid Agreement is not confined to the internal stability of Macedonia. There are fears that any dislocation in neighbouring Kosovo’s declaration of independence could inspire a militant alliance between the Kosovan and Macedonian Albanians, potentially bringing violence to the northwestern regions of the country.
A further barrier to EU entry is the political dispute between Macedonia and Greece over the name of the new country. A border province in Greece is also called Macedonia and the Greeks fear that confusion between the regions could ultimately lead to secession. In spite of exhaustive attempts throughout 2008 by the UN Mediator, Matthew Nimetz, to identify a name acceptable to both parties, the Greeks carried out their threat to veto Macedonia’s application to join NATO. This action prompted Macedonia to request the International Court of Justice to rule on its legality. For the time being, the country is formally known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Politics in Macedonia
Having been granted Candidate status, the dream of EU accession dominates the business of government in Macedonia. To meet the entry requirements, the country has to demonstrate greater respect for human rights, peaceful relations with neighbouring countries, proportional representation of minorities in state mechanisms and the adoption of European values and laws.
Unfortunately, the immature democracy in Macedonia is doing little to calm the nerves of international observers concerned about ethnic division. Poor relations between the political parties have disrupted parliamentary proceedings over recent years, in one instance ending in fisticuffs. The consequence was a stern lecture by Ollie Rehn, EU Commissioner for Enlargement, to the effect that irresponsible political behaviour was holding up essential reforms.
This parliamentary logjam, together with frustration over the NATO debacle, encouraged the prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, to call an early election in June 2008. However, violence and intimidation at polling stations in parts of the ethnic Albanian northwest of the country forced some of the international observers to flee their posts. The poll had to be repeated under heavy police presence and the OSCE was obliged to report that “as a whole” the election failed to reach appropriate standards.
Gruevski is leader of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party and his “Coalition for a better Macedonia” was ultimately successful in gaining over 60 seats in the 120-seat sobranie parliament. The ethnic Albanian vote is largely split between bitter rivals, the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) and the larger Democratic Union of Integration (DUI).
Elections for the president of Macedonia will be held in March 2009. Although the role is largely ceremonial, observers will be anxious that the voting is conducted in an orderly fashion.
Although numerous civil society organisations have been encouraged to form since independence, they lack deep roots within the community. Neither government nor the general public is entirely comfortable with the sector and efforts are under way to establish more permanent and constructive dialogue with the central government.
Human Rights and Media in Macedonia
The human rights component of the requirements for EU membership demands improvements in the criminal justice system, from police procedures to the independence of the judiciary. Amnesty International has also pointed out that the delivery of fair, adequate and impartial trials for minorities, such as the Roma, is unlikely, given the pervasive culture of discrimination. This cannot be remedied until effective anti-discrimination legislation is in place.
Institutional weaknesses also create space for corruption in Macedonia which negatively affects its development process. Although this problem is assessed to be less serious than in other countries of former Yugoslavia, an entrenched network of government officials, businessmen, judges, and politicians are responsible, reducing the credibility of the state and further alienating its citizens.
Macedonia has recently become the first wireless country. With the installation of a low cost wireless broadband network, schools, universities and remote villages can connect to the internet at a low cost. This development, known as Macedonia Connects, has the potential to create a new public space in which local populations can link up with users from other countries in a parallel cyber-civil society.
The OneWorld Macedonia Guide was first published in this format in December 2005 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Emmanouil Vrentzos
»
Your right of reply
Does this OneWorld Guide contain any inaccuracies?
Has something important been omitted?
Your views are welcome
»
Please write to the Guides Editor Has something important been omitted?
Your views are welcome
Help us to include all developing countries
Many countries are missing from our range of Country Briefings. OneWorld wants to fill these gaps as part of our efforts to improve understanding of the issues faced by developing countries. We receive no funding for the production of our educational resources. Every small contribution helps!
Many countries are missing from our range of Country Briefings. OneWorld wants to fill these gaps as part of our efforts to improve understanding of the issues faced by developing countries. We receive no funding for the production of our educational resources. Every small contribution helps!
|
Printable version
top of the page