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South East Europe
Macedonia |
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Local Government
According to the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia (enacted in 1991) the right of citizens to local government is guaranteed. In units of local government, citizens participate directly and through representatives in decision-making on issues of local relevance.
The development of local self-government has been on the agenda of government since 1998. However, virtually no actions to support the decentralization were taken forward until the beginning of 2002, when a Law on Local Self-Government was enacted. This new Law transfers powers to the municipalities in the areas of public services, culture, education, social welfare, health care, environment, urban and rural planning, economic development and local finance.
Macedonia has a single-tiered system of local government based on the municipality; currently, there are 78 plus the City of Skopje, a community comprising seven municipalities. Local government units are classified as urban, composed of a single town and possibly a number of surrounding villages, or rural, made up of a single village or a group of villages.
Both mayors and local council members are elected by popular vote. The number of municipal councilors depends on the size of the local population and is determined by the Local Government Act. The municipal council is the legislative body of the local government unit. Council sessions, which are open to the public, are convened by the president and must be attended by a majority of the total number of councilors. Decisions are made by a majority vote of the councilors attending unless determined otherwise by law or the municipal statutes. The statutes, rules of procedure, budget and balance of accounts are adopted by a majority vote of the total number of councilors.
Local communities are legal entities. They can be financed by the following sources:
- Municipal grants;
- Municipal funds for entrusted work;
- Funds collected by the local population;
- Sources from various legal entities and private individuals;
- Donations
The central authorities - the national government and assembly - are empowered to design and ensure the operation of the local government system. They are committed to set forth all basic principles, modes and legal instruments of local government operations and determine its legal framework. The central authorities organize and conduct local elections, oversee the development of the local government system and intervene when necessary to ensure proper functioning.
The Ohrid Agreement (see also the Government Background section) provided tools for far-reaching decentralization of "possibly the most centralized state in Europe". The Agreement gave local governments a voice in the appointment of local heads of police, and the latter will report regularly and upon request to the council of the municipality concerned. Nevertheless, local police remains under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior, despite the initial demands of the Albanian parties to put them under the authority of local councils.
In terms of the financial system, the most relevant problem concerns the inadequacy of financial resources assigned to local governments in light of the responsibilities assigned to the by the Constitution and other relevant legislation. This problem is compounded by the fact that local institutions cannot finance themselves through local taxation because of the limits of existing legislation.
Official homepage
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1 Government background |
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Macedonia gained its independence peacefully from Yugoslavia in 1991. International recognition occurred under the provisional designation of the \"Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.\" In 1995, Greece lifted a 20-month trade embargo and the two countries agreed to normalize relations, although differences over Macedonia\'s name remain. The prime minister is the head of government and is selected by the party or coalition that gains a majority of seats in parliament. The president represents Macedonia at home and abroad. He is the commander in chief of the armed forces of Macedonia and heads its Security Council. The president is elected by general, direct ballot and has a term of 5 years, with the right to one re-election
On 8 August 2001 in Ohrid, the leaders of the Republic of Macedonia's main political parties struck a deal which aimed at ending the violent conflict between Macedonian security forces and armed Albanian factions in the country. In order to prevent fully-fledged civil war from breaking out, Prime-Minister Ljubcho Georgievski (ÔÇyInternal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation - Democratic Party of National Unity', VMRO-DPMNE), Branko Crvenkovski (ÔÇySocial-Democratic Union of Macedonia', SDSM), Arben Xhaferi (ÔÇyDemocratic Party of the Albanians', DPA) and Ymer Ymeri (ÔÇyParty of Democratic Prosperity', PDP - the second Albanian party) agreed on a package of wide-ranging amendments to the constitution and farreaching legislative changes that should meet the Albanians' long-standing demands.
It was to be ratified by the party-leaders on 13 August. The Agreement included provisions for altering the official languages of the country, with any language spoken by over 20% of the population becoming co-official with the Macedonian language. Currently only Albanian with an approximate 25% of the population fulfils this criterion.
The current President is Branko Crvenkovski. The President is obliged to entrust the mandate for constituting the Government to a candidate from the party or parties which has/have a majority in the Assembly. The Government is elected by the majority vote of all the deputies in the Assembly. The power of the President of the Republic is mostly limited, with the real power resting in the hands of the President of the Government of Macedonia. The last election was last held October 2004.
On 22 March 2004, Macedonia submitted its application for EU membership. By 31 January 2005 in less than four months, the country\'s institutions had prepared the answers, realistically presenting the situation, and also the plans for advancement in each of the particular sectors in society. The European Commission reviewed the answers and recommended granting status of candidate country for membership in the EU. The European Council on 17 December 2005 granted the Republic candidate status for membership of the EU, recognizing the progress that it has made in meeting the Copenhagen criteria. |
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2 Area |
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Total: 25,333 sq km
Land: 24,856 sq km
Water: 477 sq km |
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3 Geography |
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Situated in the southern region of the Balkan Peninsula, Macedonia is landlocked and mountainous. Its territory is a major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe. Macedonia borders upon Albania (151 km), Bulgaria (148 km), Greece (246 km), Serbia and Montenegro (221 km).
Macedonia's natural sources are low-grade iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromate, manganese, nickel, tungsten, gold, silver, asbestos, gypsum, timber, arable land. |
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4 People |
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Population: 2,055,915 (July 2007 est.)
Ethnic composition of Macedonia is 64.2% Macedonian, 25.2% Albanian, 3.9% Turkish, 2.7% Roma, 1.8% Serb, 2.2% other (2002 census).
The religions practiced in Macedonia are Macedonian Orthodox (32.4%), other Christian (0.2%), Muslim (16.9%), other and unspecified (50.5%) (2002 census).
Languages: Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, Roma, Serbian. |
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5 Economy |
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GDP-Real Growth Rate: 3.1% (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate: 36% (September 2006 est.)
Macedonia is a small economy with a gross domestic product (GDP) of about $5.1 billion, representing about 0.01% of the total world output. It also is an open economy, highly integrated into international trade, with a total trade-to-GDP ratio of 90.2%. Agriculture and industry have been the two most important sectors of the economy, but the services sector has gained prominence in the past few years. Like most transition economies, problems persist, even as Macedonia takes steps toward reform. A largely obsolete industrial infrastructure has not seen much investment during the transition period. Work force education and skills are competitive, but without adequate job opportunities, many with the best skills seek employment abroad. A low standard of living, high unemployment rate, and relatively low economic growth rate are the central economic problems. Five years of continuous economic expansion in Macedonia was interrupted by the 2001 conflict, which led to a contraction of 4.5% in 2001. Growth started to pick up in 2003 (3.4%) and continued in 2004 (2.9%) and the first half of 2005 (3.7%). Living standards still lag behind those enjoyed before independence. In 2005, real growth is projected to reach 3.8% with inflation of up to 1.5%. . Macedonia has an extensive grey market, estimated to be more than 20 percent of GDP that falls outside official statistics.
Growth in Q1 of 2007 reached historically the highest quarterly level, building up on a rather modest 2006 performance. Strong performance was broad-based, but industry and mining sectors led the way. The industrial output in the period January - April 2007 increased by 9.9%, thus reversing the slowing trend from 2006. This was due to re-opening of one capacity in the mining and iron and steel industry, accompanied with favorable process on world market. End-year 2007 projection is 6% growth. Higher oil prices prompted a slight increase of the annualized CPI-based inflation rate in 2006, but it stabilized in the beginning of 2007. |
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6 Sources |
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CIA Fact Book
Economy in Macedonia
US Department of State
Macedonia/Legal authority and types of local governments
Local Government in Macedonia
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION - Macedonia
The Implementation of the Ohrid Agreement: Ethnic Macedonian Resentments, Center for the Study of Balkan Societies and Cultures |
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