Ministry of Finance

22^nd December 2020, Skopje - Anti-crisis measures cushioned the decline of the economic activity which occurred as a result of COVID-19 induced crisis. If no swift actions were undertaken, economic downturn in the first three quarters would have been by 1.2 percentage points higher, i.e. it would have been around 7.1% in the first three quarters rather than 5.9%. In the coming period, focus will be put, above all, on economic recovery, as well as setting the bases for accelerated and sustainable growth, Minister of Finance, Fatmir Besimi, pointed out at the Conference “Socio-Economic Consequences of COVID-19 in North Macedonia - Lessons Learnt and Recommendations for Successful and Sustainable Recovery”, organized by UNDP and Finance Think.

20^th December 2020, Skopje - Parliament adopted the 2021 Budget. This is the first medium-term budget presented before and adopted by the Parliament, within which the economy is projected to grow by 4.1% next year and budget deficit is projected to decline by 3.6 percentage points in relation to this year’s. As pointed out during the Budget presentation, main goals are to preserve the citizens’ health, support the economy, as well as accelerated growth and structural reforms.

18^th December 2020, Skopje - Our main goal, in the medium run, is to intensify the economic growth from 2%-2.5% in the last decade to 4%-5% average annual growth in the next five years. We will attain this through the Strategy for Economic Recovery and Accelerated Growth - SmartER Growth, 2021 Budget being its integral part, Minister of Finance, Famir Besimi, pointed out at the 4^th International Conference “Towards Sustainable Growth”, hosted by Mother Theresa University.

17^th December 2020, Skopje - “Ministry of Finance plans to implement the largest reform in the field of capital market next year. Existing Securities Law will be replaced with two new laws:  Law on Financial Instruments and Law on Securities Prospectus and Issuers’ Transparency Requirements. Under the reform, conditions will be created for development of new products and services on the financial market in the Republic of North Macedonia, higher level of market stability will be ensured, authorizations of supervision authorities will be strengthened, investors and market participants’ protection will be improved, Minister of Finance pointed out at “Stock Exchanges in 2020 - Review and Outlook of Local and Global Markets” Roundtable, organized by the Macedonian Stock Exchange.

17^th December 2020, Skopje - Minister of Finance, Fatmir Besimi, had a meeting with the Ambassador of France in the country, Cyrille Baumgartner. The Minister informed the Ambassador about the economic plan of the Government to manage the crisis, as well as the key reforms and strategies prepared within the Ministry of Finance, providing for accelerated, sustainable and inclusive growth.