Transparency is the first step toward being able to say that society is ready to fight corruption. The fight against corruption and organized crime must not be campaign-based or limited to a short period of time. In order to ensure a more effective fight against corruption, some of the mechanisms include: introducing access to data from business registers in the country, integration into the European Business Registers Interconnection System, the establishment of a Research Data Center within the State Statistical Office, as well as the introduction of an integrated framework for preventing corruption in both the public and private sectors.
These are part of the recommendations from the fifth session of Working Group 6 – Anti-Corruption (Chapters 5 – Public Procurement, 18 – Statistics, 32 – Financial Control) of the National Convention on the EU in North Macedonia, on the topic “Fighting Corruption through Transparency and Accountability: Recommendations and Opportunities in the Republic of North Macedonia from the Perspective of European Practices.”
The Director of the Financial Police, Slobodan Ivanovski, emphasized that transparency and accountability are the greatest enemies of this society—if we are transparent, it shows we have nothing to hide.
“When it comes to transparency and accountability, all institutions must be open, and citizens must be aware of our results as well as our mistakes. Bringing cases to light awakens both citizens and the media regarding the proceedings; the media gain easier access to information and documentation related to criminal events,” Ivanovski said.
He stressed that selectivity and inaction are killers of justice, and that the most common abuses, embezzlements, and fraud occur in the area of public procurement.
“There are two key moments here—first is the procurement procedure itself, where we often see rigged tenders, and second is the contract implementation phase, which requires expertise, especially for large-scale processes. Public procurement is a challenge for the Financial Police, which must act as the guardian of the state treasury. The draining of the treasury mostly happens through public procurement,” he said.
He underscored that after the tragedy in Kocani, every public official must develop a perception of fearing the law, not local strongmen who place themselves above the law.
“In smaller communities, it’s often the case that public officials fear a local strongman who believes he’s above the law. No one should be granted amnesty; only with such an approach can we reduce the crime rate,” Ivanovski said.
He also addressed an internal issue within the Financial Police: the lack of an established internal control system. He noted that digitalization is a vital need to combat this pressing problem. He added that the Financial Police have signed cooperation memoranda with the Public Procurement Bureau, the Central Securities Depository, and the Ministry of Interior, allowing inspectors access to data systems—though such access must be monitored to prevent misuse.
Dragan Tilev, State Counselor for European Affairs and Coordination, stated that the fight against corruption goes hand in hand with the fight against organized crime and must be a frontal assault on these enemies of the state.
“Organized crime is entrenched in the institutions—corruption cannot happen without connections between those inside the institutions and those outside who want to exploit them. If EU regulations and technical standards had been fully implemented and monitored, the tragedy in Kocani would not have occurred—that must serve as a wake-up call to prevent such events from happening again,” Tilev said.
He emphasized that regardless of whether accession negotiations begin or not, North Macedonia has accepted the obligation to transpose EU regulations and standards, and that the fight against corruption must not be campaign-based or time-limited, only to fall back into murky waters.
“This must be a continuous effort, and civil society has a crucial role through its robust presence to make a significant contribution and leave a strong mark. The cluster on fundamental values opens first and closes last—at every bilateral screening for each cluster in Brussels, there was insistence on presenting an overview of anti-corruption policies, including implementation, protection, prevention, and enforcement. A novelty in the Negotiating Framework is that no chapter can be closed without visible results in the fight against corruption,” Tilev said.
He added that since 2024, North Macedonia has officially become part of the EU Rule of Law mechanism, and annual reports are being produced, with a significant portion addressing the fight against corruption and organized crime.
Professor Mileva Gjurovska, President of the European Movement and National Coordinator of NCEU-MK, emphasized that despite boasting about harmonized legislation, reforms are stagnant. She referred to the Kocani tragedy, which she said was a result of corrupt practices that ultimately devastate the entire community.
Dragan Tevdovski, Professor at the Faculty of Economics at UKIM, said that mechanisms for combating corruption are necessary. According to him, one such mechanism would be a platform that automatically collects asset data of appointed officials, rather than relying on them to declare their assets.
He also proposed pushing out cash transactions as a solution to systemic corruption, noting that major opposition to such measures comes from “big players.” He called for a consolidated balance sheet for the public sector—which many developing countries lack—as well as a platform to monitor which companies receive state funding.
Former SCPC President Biljana Ivanovska said that the fight against corruption must not be campaign-based and recalled the National Anti-Corruption Strategy they developed at the beginning of their mandate, built on two key pillars: public spending and abuse of official position. She pointed out the need for a state property register to know who controls what.
“When we were drafting the 2021–2025 Strategy, insufficient transparency was identified as one of the risk factors for corruption. We are aware of how serious a social disease corruption is, and how much of a fight lies ahead for all societal actors. Considering that transparency is a powerful enemy of corruption, today’s meeting will send a strong message to all institutions and public officials that everyone has the opportunity within their competencies to increase transparency. It is strongly tied to accountability and responsibility. Those who are accountable and carry out their functions responsibly have no problem being transparent. Anyone who hides something is likely facing corruption risks and does not want to be transparent,” Ivanovska said.
Gjerman Filkov, President of the Center for Civil Communications, spoke about the role of journalists and civil society organizations in sanctioning and preventing corruption.
He cited several cases uncovered by journalists through access to public procurement information: the ESM case, the Bechtel-Enka tender, the modular hospital fire in Tetovo, and the unbuilt swimming pools in Bitola and Kicevo.
“The biggest step forward came in 2019 when procurement plans started being published—now we can all see what was agreed versus what was delivered,” said Filkov, adding that annexes should be merged with contracts in a single place.
Former SCPC member Vladimir Georgiev commented on the recent developments involving current SCPC President Tanja Dimitrovska, stating that responsibility is individual for each member, but that the situation affects the institution’s performance and public image.
“What emerged from the Prosecutor’s Office—that the SCPC President was involved—really affects the image and public trust, not just in her, but in other institutions connected to SCPC. Whether the entire institution is to blame—I think responsibility lies with each individual member, in this case, the President. But it does affect SCPC’s work and reputation. Trust is hard to earn through work, impartiality, and dedication, but very easy to lose. SCPC is already on the edge of public trust and will need significant effort to regain it,” Georgiev said.
Snezana Kamilovska Trpovska said that transparency is the first step to being able to say that society is ready to fight corruption.
“That allows institutions to be open to the public about how they work, which goes hand in hand with accountability and responsibility. The more we invest in transparency, the more we reduce the risks of corruption. Therefore, initial mechanisms for building a system that ensures better conditions must enable increased transparency, which also enhances responsibility,” she said.