EU Convergence Study - Economic and Social Effects of FYR Macedonia’s EU Accession
Project description
In partnership with the Ministry of Finance, UNDP has initiated a process of developing EU Convergence Study – Economic and Social Effects of EU Accession with an overall objective to assist the country in identification of policy options for the Government and the business community for overcoming the unavoidable social price of the EU integration and to assist economic agents to become prepared for the EU competition. More specifically, the project will produce a study that will include the likely scenarios and consequences of EU accession for the country, drawing on the experience of countries that have recently joined the EU; provide a set of concrete policy recommendations for implementation of policies that will enable FYR Macedonia to maximize the benefits of EU accession; foresee and take measures to mitigate the negative effects of accession on Macedonian society and the economy, and provide a basis for the education of the public about the implications and likely consequences of EU accession.
The study will not focus on the legal steps and measures required for EU accession. Rather the team of lead international experts together with a small group of national experts and partners will be engaged with a task to identify the problems and to suggest the ways they may be efficiently addressed within a reasonably short period of time. The experts will have been expected to provide comparative analysis of the experiences of the SEE countries in particular and in-depth knowledge of the overall EU agenda and negotiations processes.
The preliminary assessment indicated that the following areas and issues will be central to the convergence process, and will be covered with in the study:
• Macro-economic convergence;
• Creating favourable environment for increasing of the capital flows and ensuring grater interface of Macedonia’ economy with the economies of the EU countries;
• Financial sector convergence;
• Industrial competitiveness;
• Agricultural competitiveness;
• Labour force, migration, income and education;
Results
• EU Convergence Study developed offering policy recommendations to be integrated into a wider Government negotiating platform and action plan for addressing the consequences of the convergence process.
• Policy papers prepared offering in-depth analysis on the accession maturity of various sectors, that will not be measured only by the speed of harmonization, but more importantly according to the ability of development actors to cope with the pressure and necessary adjustments that is expected to be upcoming during the negotiations and country’s full membership.
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Focus Area
Knowledge and Policy Initiatives
Major Source of Funding
UNDP–TRAC and Government Cost Sharing , USD 376,283.00
Location
National level project
Project documents
Fact Sheet
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