North Macedonia
The commitment of North Macedonia to, and its application of, the political principles stated in Article 1 of the Agreement Establishing the Bank has continued since the adoption of the previous Country Strategy, in line with its efforts towards implementation of the comprehensive EU reform agenda. North Macedonia was the first Western Balkans country granted the formal status of EU candidate country in 2005. In 2009, the European Commission recommended to open the EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia. The reform and growth facility under the new EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans represents an important mechanism for steering and supporting comprehensive reforms.
The growth performance of North Macedonia has been the weakest in the Western Balkans since the Global Financial Crisis and it was slower to recover from Covid-19, only returning to 2019 GDP levels in 2022. The country is the most open to trade in the region, with goods exports tripling over the past decade to over 50% of GDP. However, until 2023, due to high import content of production and low export complexity, net exports had a negative value-added contribution.
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