REPORT of the Republic of Macedonia on Millennium Development Goals
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Government of the Republic of Macedonia REPORT of the Republic of Macedonia on Millennium Development Goals June 2005 Foreword This document is a report of The Republic of economic and political reforms, and by active Macedonia elaborating the achievement of the macroeconomic and developmental policies. Millennium Development Goals (MDG), as well The strategic aim of accessing the Euro-Atlan- as the directions for their further adjustment tic structures, and especially the integration in towards the national development priorities in the European Union is the basic driving force order to establish conditions for their successful behind the reforms in the state institutions and implementation by 2015. the promotion of modern, democratic, and mar- Following the establishment of the inde- ket-oriented society in which the principles for pendence in 1991, The Republic of Macedonia basic human freedoms and ethnic diversity are has undergone a complete transformation from respected. a socialist towards a market-oriented economy, The Republic of Macedonia is the fi rst coun- and from single-party political system towards try in the region to sign the Stabilization and As- pluralistic democracy. The reforms have been im- sociation Agreement with EU in 2001. The pro- plemented concurrently, in both normative and cess of formal accession to EU was initiated by social and economic perspective. Concerning the submission of the application for obtaining the normative level, a considerable progress has the status of an EU candidate country on March been achieved, whereas, besides the achieved 22, 2004. Then in October 2004, we received the results we are facing signifi cant challenges in the Questionnaire from the European Commission fi eld of economic and political restructuring. the answers to which will provide the basis for The transformation of the economic struc- the opinion on the application for membership tures over the past 14 years was has incurred a in EU. The Government submitted the answers high social price. The slow economic trends are to the Questionnaire on February 15, 2005. Upon still failing to establish conditions for poverty re- European Commission request, we submitted duction, which remains on a disconcerting level. additional answers to additional questions in This, apart from the rest, is an impact result- May 2005. ing from the numerous shocks suff ered by the We expect to receive positive opinion for economy following the establishment of the in- the membership application from the European dependence. Nevertheless, The Republic of Mac- Commission in November 2005, and in Decem- edonia has managed to sustain the macroeco- ber 2005 we expect the European Council to nomic stability, and to keep the infl ation at a low pass a decision in order to grant the Republic of level, and starting from 1996 (except for 2001), Macedonia a status of a country candidate for EU it initiated gradual upward trends which have membership, and to initiate the membership ne- been designed to continue in the forthcoming gotiations in 2006. Our strategic goal is EU mem- period, hence the country is expected to catch bership by 2010. the rhythm with the development practiced by The achievement of the Millennium Devel- the countries advanced in their transition, and opment Goals is a priority in order to establish the European union countries. conditions for the integration of the Republic GOALS DEVELOPMENT MILLENNIUM MACEDONIA OF REPUBLIC The problems a country faces are solved by of Macedonia in the EU. Hence, MDG present a 005, strategic orientation with respect to the coun- REPORT 2 REPORT 3 try’s macroeconomic and development policy. The basic goal of the Economic programme, Furthermore, eff orts are being undertaken to in- adopted by the Government in mid May this tegrate the MDG targets and indicators with the year, is to create conditions and presumptions national policies and development strategies as for higher economic growth, and new job open- instruments for implementing and monitoring ings. Therefore, a heavy emphasis is laid on the the process of the achieved progress. business climate improvement, introduction Having accepted the Millennium Declara- of one-stop shop, benefi ts for the exporting tion, the Republic of Macedonia, as a mem- companies in accordance with the World Trade ber of the United Nations, is committed to the Organization principles, promotion of small and fi ght for eradication of the most severe poverty medium-sized enterprises, speeding-up of the forms, to the fi ght for providing comprehensive bankruptcy procedures, attracting foreign inves- primary education, to the promotion of gen- tors, building inexpensive apartments, as well as der equality, reduction of infant mortality rate, health insurance entitlements for all the citizens creation of conditions for improving the health in the country. By implementing the Economic status of mothers, to the undertaking of decisive Programme, conditions shall be created condu- measures against HIF/AIDS, malaria, and other cive to a more successful medium term achieve- serious diseases, as well as to ensuring environ- ment of the MDG. mental sustainability and establishing global Since the achievement of MDG is a long-term partnership for development. process, and it requires a complex approach and The decentralization process, which is under activity of all concerned parties in the country, way, is of utmost signifi cance for enhancing de- the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, mocracy and bringing the government closer to in cooperation with the United Nations Develop- the citizens. Within the framework of these ac- ment Programme, will draft a programme for so- tivities, eff orts will be undertaken to introduce cio-economic development for the period 2006 models of integrated socio-economic develop- – 2015. ment and models for achieving the Millennium We hope that in the following MDG report Development Goals on both the national and we will present a more substantial progress con- the local level. cerning the achievements, as well as concerning Although this is the fi rst report, in terms of the design and implementation of better coor- its contents, in addition to the overview of the dinated activities in order to achieve the Millen- results and the existing problems, it provides nium Development Goals more successfully in directions for the future achievement of the Mil- the forthcoming period. lennium Developmental Goals. Also, the report We would like to especially thank the UN underlines the responsibility of the Government system for its valuable and consistent support in of the Republic of Macedonia for achieving as the facilitation of a broad national discussion on great a level of success in accomplishing MDG as the MDGs and in the actual preparation of the possible, and it is also a coordination document report. We strongly believe that we will closely for the future activities. work further towards the achievement of the At fi rst glance the considerations of pov- MDGs for the benefi t of each and all in the Re- erty reduction in the forthcoming period might public of Macedonia. seem too optimistic. However, these consider- ations are substantiated through scientifi c and Vlado Buckovski, Ph.D, specialized research, and they highlight the President of the Government of The fact that the Republic of Macedonia abounds Republic of Macedonia in material, human, and other potentials, which by coordinated activity of all stakeholders in the country, and with the support from abroad may be deployed to ensure that an accelerated pace of economic growth is achieved, and in MDG are successfully realized . 4 ACRONYMS CEDAW ......... Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CEE ......... Central and Eastern Europe CEHAPE ........ Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe CIS ......... Commonwealth of Independent States DOTS .........Directly Observed Treatment EBRD ......... European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EFTA ......... European Free Trade Association EU ......... European Union FDI ......... Foreign Direct Investments GDP ......... Gross Domestic Product HFA ......... Health for All (WHO) ICT ......... Information and Communication Technology IMF ......... International Monetary Fund IMR ......... Infant Mortality Rate IUCN ......... International Union for Conservation of Nature IOM ......... International Organization for Migration ISCED ......... International Standard Classifi cation of Education IT ......... Information Technology MDGs ......... Millennium Development Goals NAP ......... National Action Plan NBRM ......... National Bank of Macedonia NEAP ......... National Environmental Action Plan NGO ......... Non-Governmental Organization OMC ......... Open Method of Coordination (EU) SEE ......... South Eastern Europe SGE ......... Secondary General Education SME ......... Small and Medium Enterprises SVE ......... Secondary Vocational Education TB ......... Tuberculosis U5MR ......... Under-fi ve Mortality Rate UN ......... United Nations UNAIDS ........ Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS UNCTAD ....... United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNDP ......... United Nations Development Programme UNESCO ....... United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organization UNHCR ......... United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees UNICEF ........ United Nations Children’s Fund UNIFEM ........ United Nations Development Fund for Women UNODC ......... UN Offi ce on Drugs and Crime