{"id":12987,"date":"2026-03-25T10:36:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T10:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/en\/?p=12987"},"modified":"2026-04-02T07:31:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T07:31:57","slug":"seventh-session-of-working-group-6-anti-corruption-experts-call-for-stronger-mechanisms-and-restoring-public-trust-in-institutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/en\/2026\/03\/25\/seventh-session-of-working-group-6-anti-corruption-experts-call-for-stronger-mechanisms-and-restoring-public-trust-in-institutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Seventh Session of Working Group 6 \u2013 Anti-Corruption: \u201cInstitutional capacities for preventing and combating corruption in the Republic of North Macedonia: European perspectives and national practices\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"3\">The National Convention on the European Union in North Macedonia (NCEU-MK) recently held its seventh session of Working Group 6 (Anti-Corruption). The session focused on Chapter 5 (Public Procurement), Chapter 18 (Statistics), and Chapter 32 (Financial Control). The event brought together representatives from state institutions, civil society, academia, and international experts to discuss the theme: <i data-path-to-node=\"3\" data-index-in-node=\"404\">&#8220;Institutional Capacities for Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Republic of North Macedonia: European Perspectives and National Practices.&#8221;<\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"5\">North Macedonia has made significant strides in meeting international anti-corruption benchmarks. According to recent analyses, the country has fully implemented 17 out of 24 GRECO recommendations from the fifth evaluation round, with 6 others partially addressed. This performance positions North Macedonia favorably among regional competitors in the EU accession process. However, experts cautioned that while the new legal architecture is in place, the true measure of success will be how citizens experience the rule of law in their daily lives.<\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n\t#foogallery-gallery-12931 .fg-image {\r\n        width: 640px;\r\n    }\r\n<\/style>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"foogallery foogallery-container foogallery-image-viewer foogallery-link-image foogallery-lightbox-foobox fg-center fg-image-viewer fg-light fg-border-thin fg-shadow-outline fg-loading-default fg-loaded-fade-in fg-caption-hover fg-hover-fade fg-hover-zoom fg-ready\" id=\"foogallery-gallery-12931\" data-foogallery=\"{&quot;item&quot;:{&quot;showCaptionTitle&quot;:true,&quot;showCaptionDescription&quot;:true},&quot;lazy&quot;:true,&quot;template&quot;:{&quot;loop&quot;:true}}\" >\r\n\t<div class=\"fiv-inner\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"fiv-inner-container\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a 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src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%22640%22%20height%3D%22360%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20640%20360%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">_DSC0649<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC0652.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"_DSC0652\" data-attachment-id=\"12942\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2026\/03\/DSC0652\/2111915024.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%22640%22%20height%3D%22360%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20640%20360%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">_DSC0652<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC0682.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"_DSC0682\" data-attachment-id=\"12944\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2026\/03\/DSC0682\/3654410653.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%22640%22%20height%3D%22360%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20640%20360%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">_DSC0682<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<div class=\"fiv-ctrls\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"fiv-prev\"><span>Prev<\/span><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<label class=\"fiv-count\"><span class=\"fiv-count-current\">1<\/span>of<span class=\"fiv-count-total\">13<\/span><\/label>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"fiv-next\"><span>Next<\/span><\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"7\">The Director of the Financial Police Office, Slobodan Ivanovski, highlighted a strategic shift within the institution. The focus has moved from numerous minor cases toward complex investigations into high-level corruption. Although the number of criminal charges has decreased to approximately 40 per year, the total damages identified in these cases reached a record 3.3 billion MKD.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"7\">Ivanovski compared corruption to a &#8220;malignant disease&#8221; that gradually weakens the state, emphasizing that institutions must act non-selectively, even against current officials. He noted that financial investigations must run parallel to criminal proceedings to ensure the effective confiscation of illegally acquired assets.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"10\">Luca Forteleoni from the Italian Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC) presented the Italian model, which prioritizes prevention through transparency and integrity. A key pillar of their system is a national database containing 65 million public procurement documents collected over 15 years. This digitalization allows for real-time detection of corruption and the direct imposition of penalties, a model North Macedonia aims to replicate through its plan for full digitalization by 2027.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"12\">The President of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (SCPC), Adem Chuchulj, announced the development of a new national strategy. This year, the focus is on strengthening the integrity system within the judiciary.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"13\">Support from international partners remains vital:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"14\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"14,0,0\">The OSCE Mission is currently working with 80 municipalities to implement integrity policies.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"14,1,0\">The OSCE is collaborating with the Assembly on a new Code of Ethics, expected to be adopted in the spring of 2026.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"15\">Rusudan Tabatadze from the OSCE emphasized that while donors provide assistance, local institutions must remain in the &#8220;driver\u2019s seat.&#8221; Success depends on strong political will, adequate funding for anti-corruption bodies, judicial independence, and merit-based recruitment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"17\">Despite legislative progress, the discussion involving professors, judges, and CSO representatives revealed a sobering reality: public perception remains negative. Data from December 2025 shows that 36% of citizens reported being in a situation where they were asked for a bribe.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"20\">Finally, participants agreed that passing laws is merely the formal beginning of reform. The success of anti-corruption policies will not be measured by the number of strategies adopted, but by the quality of life for the average citizen. Substantial rule of law and alignment with European values will only be achieved when individuals feel protected by the law and when reporting corruption is no longer perceived as a personal risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The National Convention on the European Union in North Macedonia (NCEU-MK) recently held its seventh session of Working Group 6 (Anti-Corruption). The session focused on Chapter 5 (Public Procurement), Chapter 18 (Statistics), and Chapter 32 (Financial Control). The event brought together representatives from state institutions, civil society, academia, and international experts to discuss the theme: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12943,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[85,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12987"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12987"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13025,"href":"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12987\/revisions\/13025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nkeu.mk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}