ISSUE: 3/2024
- Volume 28
- Number 3
- 2024
Subscribe NEWSLETTER
Studia Europejskie –
Studies in European Affairs
ISSN: 1428-149X
e-ISSN: 2719-3780
License
Articles published in the journal are under a Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial – No Derivatives 4.0 International License
Publication co-financed by the University of Warsaw within the “Excellence Initiative – Research University” programme.
Czasopismo otrzymało dofinasowanie w ramach Programu „Inicjatywa Doskonałości – Uczelnia Badawcza”.
The Path of the Republic of North Macedonia Towards a Functional Market Economy and the Ability to Cope With Competitive Pressure and Market Forces Within the European Union
Abstract
The path of the Republic of North Macedonia towards European Union (EU) membership has been long and difficult, with blockades from neighbouring countries and internal political instability that has hindered both the reform processes and the economic progress of the country. However, despite the difficulties and obstacles, the country remains determined and committed to continue its EU membership path through by implementing EU standards. North Macedonia started negotiations for membership in the EU in 2022, and, on that occasion, the European Commission began the screening process. However, the negotiation process on the horizon is not looking easy at all, since the Government is not only faced with the fulfilment of the demands as reached in an address by the Commission, but Bulgaria continues to insist on concrete results from the fulfilment of the obligations received from North Macedonia in a friendship agreement reached with Bulgaria in 2017. The purpose of this study is to shed light on North Macedonia’s ups and downs in this situation, which result from both external factors (disagreements with neighbours such as Greece and Bulgaria) and internal factors (the approach of certain Macedonian governments at certain stages to face demands in order to overcome disputes with neighbours in the name of Euro-integrations). The author intends to achieve such a goal through the selected methodology that is suitable for achieving the expected results and findings; empirical methods, analysis and synthesis, data collection and processing, the interpretation of results, and historical, comparative, inductive, and deductive methods. The most recent report from the Commission for North Macedonia (2023) finds essential treatment in this paper, with Cluster 2 and Cluster 3 being of interest for this study. The author concludes that the content of this report turns out to be not only an overview of the current situation in which North Macedonia finds itself, but also provides recommendations for improving the situation in the spheres and segments where either stagnation or a lack of progress has been detected.
References
Baun, M.J. (2000) A Wider Europe: The Process and Politics of European Union Enlargement. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Brussels European Council 15/16 December 2005 Presidency Conclusions, 15914/1/05/Rev 1.
Commission North Macedonia 2023 Report, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, COM(2023) 690 final.
Dimitrova, A.L. (2004) The European Union’s Enlargement viewed from the East. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Directive 97/67/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 on common rules for the development of the internal market of Community postal services and the improvement of quality of service, OJ L 15, 21.01.1998.
Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 December 2001 on general product safety, OJ L 11, 15.01.2002.
Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights, OJ L 157, 30.04.2004.
Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market, OJ L 376, 27.12.2006.
Directive 2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works, OJ L 299, 27.10.2012.
Directive 2014/26/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use in the internal market, OJ L 84, 20.03.201.
Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure, OJ L 157, 15.06.2016.
Enlargement and Stabilisation and Association Process – Council Conclusions, 10374/18.
Enlargement and Stabilisation and Association Process (the Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Albania) – Council Conclusions, 6954/20.
Eur-lex (2024) Internal market. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/glossary/internal-market.html (Access 6.07.2024).
Euronews.com (2023) EU unlocks Single Market access for Western Balkans in exchange for reforms. Available at: https://www.euronews.com/business/2023/10/17/eu-unlocks-single-market-access-for-western-balkans-in-exchange-for-reforms (Access 22.07.2024).
European Council (2024) Strategic agenda 2024–2029. Available at: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/european-council/strategic-agenda-2024-2029/ (Access 22.07.2024).
Hill, Ch. and Smith, M. (2011) International Relations and the European Union. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hillion, Ch. (2004) EU Enlargement: A Legal Approach. Oregon: Hart Publishing.
Huber, P., Nerudová, D. and Rozmahel, P. (eds.) (2016) Competitiveness, Social Inclusion and Sunstainability in a Diverse European Union: Perspectives from Old and New Member States. Cham: Springer International Publishing. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-17299-6.
Karadzoski, M. and Adamczyk, A. (2014) „Macedonia and Her Difficult Neighbours on the Path to the EU”, Yearbook of Polish European Studies. Vol. 17.
Kelemen, R.D., Menon, A. and Slapin, J. (2015) The European Union: Integration and Enlargement. London and New York: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781315750644.
Koutrakos, P. and Snell J. (eds.) (2017) Research Handbook on the Law of the EU’s Internal Market. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. DOI: 10.4337/9781783478101.
Law on Audit (Official Gazette of the Republic of North Macedonia, no. 158/10, 135/11, 188/13, 43/14, 138/14, 145/15, 192/15, 23/16 and 83/18).
Law on controlling state aid (Official Gazette of the Republic of North Macedonia, no. 145/10).
Law on European Company (Official Gazette of the Republic of North Macedonia, no. 115/2010).
Makedonija vo EU (2006) (трето дополнето и изменето издание) [treto dopolneto i izmeneto izdanie]. Секретаријат за европски прашања, Скопје [Sekretarijat za evropski prashanja, Skopje]. Available at: http://www.morm.gov.mk (Access 11.07.2024).
Medrano, J.D. (1999) “The European Union: Economic Giant, Political Dwarf ”, International Order and the Future of World Politics. Cambridge University Press.
Meunier, S. and McNamara, K.R. (eds.) (2007) Making History: European Integration and Institutional Change at Fifty. New York: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780199218677.003.0001.
Mundschenk, S., Stierle, M.H., Stierle-von Schütz, U. and Traistaru, I. (eds.) (2006) Competitiveness and Growth in Europe: Lessons and Policy Implications for the Lisbon Strategy. Cheltenham: Edwards Elgar Publishing Limited. DOI: 10.4337/9781781007464.
National strategy for intellectual property 2022–2026. Government of the Republic of North Macedonia. Skopje. December 2021.
Öberg, M.-L. (2020) The Boundaries of the EU Internal Market: Participation without Membership. New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI: 10.1017/9781108584531.
Pelkmans, J., Hanf, D. and Chang, M. (eds.) (2008) The EU Internal Market in Comparative Perspective: Economic, Political and Legal Analyses. Brussels: P.I.E. Peter Lang. DOI: 10.3726/978-3-0352-6115-8.
Pellat, G., Zafiroski, J. and Šuplata, M. (eds.) (2024) Cooperation and Enlargement: Two Challenges to be Addressed in the European Projects – 2022. Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-42253-9.
Regulation (EU) 2018/644 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 April 2018 on cross-border parcel delivery services, OJ L 112, 2.05.2018.
Santer, J. (1998) The EU in the 21st Century: Political Dwarf or World Actor? The Bologna Centre of the John Hopkins University.
Staab, A. (2013) The European Union Explained: Institutions, Actors, Global Impact (3rd edition). Bloomington: Indiana University Press. DOI: 10.2307/j.ctt16gz6r5.
Stelkens, U. et al. (2012) The Implementation of the EU Services Directive: Transposition, Problems and Strategies. Hague: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-90-6704-840-8.
Treaty on Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (consolidated version), OJ C 326 (2012).
Weatherill, S. (2017) The Internal Market as Legal Concept. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198794806.001.0001.
Weiss, F. and Kaupa, C. (2014) European Union Internal Market Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781107785366.
Language: English
Pages: 295-313
How to Cite:
Harvard
Shabani, F. (2024) "The Path of the Republic of North Macedonia Towards a Functional Market Economy and the Ability to Cope With Competitive Pressure and Market Forces Within the European Union". Studia Europejskie – Studies in European Affairs, 3/2024, pp. 295-313. DOI: 10.33067/SE.3.2024.17