North Macedonia 2024–2026 Action Plan Review

North Macedonia’s sixth action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... includes promising commitments on beneficial ownershipDisclosing beneficial owners — those who ultimately control or profit from a business — is essential for combating corruption, stemming illicit financial flows, and fighting tax evasion. Technical... More, political financeProviding for transparency in the funding of campaigns, political parties, and democratic politics is an essential accountability mechanism for democratic government and is a growing focus area in OGP... More transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More, and public consultation at the local level. The action plan is ambitious and covers a wide range of policy areas in support of North Macedonia’s EU accession process. During implementation, it will be crucial for public institutions to collaborate closely with civil society to produce strong results.

The commitments in North Macedonia’s sixth action plan are organized under five themes: fight against corruption, participatory decision-making and civic participation, legal empowerment and access to justiceAccessible justice systems – both formal and informal – ensure that individuals and communities with legal needs know where to go for help, obtain the help they need, and move through a system tha... More, development and use of digital technologies, and promotion of climate change activities. They cover numerous topics, including access to the beneficial ownership register, digitalization of political parties’ financial reports, citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More in local government decision-making processes, access to information at the central level, access to justiceTo address barriers that prevent citizens from having their justice needs met, OGP participating governments are working to expand transparency, accountability, and inclusion into all systems of justi..., and access to environmental information. In parallel to the action plan, North Macedonia will also be implementing its third Open ParliamentEnsuring access to legislative information and creating mechanisms for public participation are critical to building an open, trusting relationship with citizens. Technical specifications: Commitments... More and second Open JudiciaryWhile a majority of open government reforms occur within the executive branch, OGP members are increasingly taking on commitments to increase the openness of the judicial branch. Technical specificati... action plans.

The action plan continues and expands on some commitments from the previous plan, which include Commitments 1.2 on beneficial ownership transparency, 3.1 on improving access to free legal aidMore and better information about aid helps partner countries and donor institutions plan and manage aid resources more effectively, parliaments and civil society to hold governments accountable for t..., and 3.2 on protecting victims of domestic violence. North Macedonia submitted CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... 1.2 as an Open Gov Challenge.

The action plan also introduces new commitments, for example Commitments 1.1 on the transparency of government sessions and meetings, 2.5 on digital tools for public consultation at the local level, and 4.1 on political finance transparency.

The OGP Council, North Macedonia’s multi-stakeholder forumRegular dialogue between government and civil society is a core element of OGP participation. It builds trust, promotes joint problem-solving, and empowers civil society to influence the design, imple..., led a robust co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive... while the newly created Ministry of Public Administration (formerly the Ministry for Information Society and Administration) assumed the coordinating role. Civil society actively shaped the scope of commitments, particularly around beneficial ownership and the political party finance. Most discussions on commitment design took place in smaller thematic working groups, which will also monitor the implementation stage.

The President of the Assembly of North Macedonia issued a decision to form a working group to develop and adopt its 2024–2026 Open Parliament Action Plan.[1] It carries forward several previous activities but contains vague indicators for the milestones. Separately, the Open Judiciary Council decided to continue the six commitments from its first action plan (2021–2023), all which were unfulfilled, for the second Open Judiciary Action Plan.

In this review, the IRM has assessed three promising commitments. Commitment 1.2 targets the disclosure of beneficial ownership information of companies that bid and win public tenders. It has the potential to improve transparency in government spending and allow stakeholders to flag possible corruption in public procurementTransparency in the procurement process can help combat corruption and waste that plagues a significant portion of public procurement budgets globally. Technical specifications: Commitments that aim t... More. Commitment 4.1 could transform how political parties publish their financial reports, therefore making parties more transparent and accountable. At the local level, Commitment 2.5 could result in the introductions of new, innovative methods to enable citizens participation in government decision-making.

Several commitments in this action plan depend on the adoption of legislative amendments, whereas public institutions operate with inadequate human and financial resources. These present a challenge in the implementation of the action plan. Additionally, stakeholders have noted the urgency of training new coordinators and civil society representatives, particularly those who are involved in the OGP process for the first time. The Ministry of Public Administration is taking steps to address these concerns during implementation by coordinating meetings with working groups, OGP Council sessions, meetings with subgroup coordinators, and individual meetings with new coordinators.[2]

Promising Commitments

[1] “National Action Plan for Open Government Partnership 2024–2026,” Ministry of Information Society and Administration, February 2004, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/north-macedonia-action-plan-2024-2026-june.

[2] Working meetings were held with the Working Group with all stakeholders for the implementation of the National Action Plan for Open Government Partnership 2024-2026, Ministry of Information Society and Administration, https://ovp.gov.mk/%d0%be%d0%b4%d1%80%d0%b6%d0%b0%d0%bd%d0%b8-%d1%80%d0%b0%d0%b1%d0%be%d1%82%d0%bd%d0%b8-%d1%81%d1%80%d0%b5%d0%b4%d0%b1%d0%b8-%d1%81%d0%be-%d1%80%d0%b0%d0%b1%d0%be%d1%82%d0%bd%d0%b0%d1%82%d0%b0-%d0%b3-2/