Download The Republic of MACEDONIA

Small States and European
Integration
The Case of Macedonia
Background
• Macedonia – basic facts
• Area 26,000 sq kms
• Located (landlocked) between
Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria Greece and
Albania
• Capital: Skopje
• Population 2.0 million
• GDP per cap $4,000 Corruption 84th/179
Background
• Ethnic composition: 64% Macedonian, 25%
Albanian, 4% Turkish, Roma 2.6% Others
4%
• Language: Macedonian but anywhere where
an ethnic group exceeds 20%, that language
is also official.
Political stucture
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1991 Referendum and new Constitution
Assembly 120 seats
Elections every 5 years
Multi-party system
Parties are tied to ethnicity
Ohrid Agreements revise political system in
2001
Economy
• Major exports: iron and steel products;textiles;
wine, fruit, vegetables
• Export markets: Germany, Serbia, Greece, Italy
• Major imports: oil, vehicles, machinery
• Import origins: Germany, Serbia, Ukraine, Greece
• Industries: electricity; oil refining; buses,
cigarettes, textiles, shoes, furniture
• Agriculture: wheat, corn, sugar beet;grapes,
vegetables, fruit (nearly self-sufficient in food)
Ohrid Agreement
• Signed (2001) between ethnic factions at
end of violence
• Also by USA and EU
• What did Ohrid do? Why was it needed ?
• State was now for ‘all citizens of
Macedonia’ instead of ‘national state of te
Macedonian people’ in ‘co-existence with
Albanians…’ etc
Ohrid Agreement
• Language: Any communiutyy of mor tha 20% to
have its langiuage recognised as official.
University education to be provided in language of
minorities (with more thsn 20%)
• Vooting in parliament: majority of the minority
required fgoir laws affecting language, education,
culture, symbols, personal documents etc
• A third of the judges on the Const Ct also to be
supported by the minority
Ohrid
• “equitable representation” in public bodies
• Positive recruiitment to universities for minorities
• Police recruitment and deployment to reflect
ethnicity: training funded by EU, USA, OSCE
• Decentralisation within a small state to promote
local/ethnic participation
• Arms to be handed in (to NATO) as Ohrid
proposals were implemented pari passu
Macedonia and the EU
• Candidate status in 2005
• Annual progress reports from EU
Commission
• Visa restrictions
• Participation in exchange programmes
Macedonia and NATO
• Accession a key objective
• Bucharest NATO Summit 2008 Macedonian
application not submitted
• Greek objections: the name dispute
• 2008 poll shows 85% in favour of
membership
• US supports name “Macedonia”
Reflections
• European integration and a small/weak
state:
• Economic security : trade, FDI, Euro
• Political stability: democracy;local
government; policing, anti-corruption
• Inter-ethnic harmony supported
• “Political conditionality” linked to EU
membership as the only future scenario