Accession of North Macedonia to the European Union

The accession of North Macedonia (formerly the Republic of Macedonia) to the European Union (EU) has been on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU since 2005, when it became a candidate for accession. Macedonia submitted its membership application in 2004, thirteen years after its independence from Yugoslavia. It is one of five current EU candidate countries, together with Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. The use of the country name "Macedonia" was disputed between Greece and Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) between 1991 and 2019. Between 2008 and 2019 there was a Greek veto on the EU and NATO accession talks with that country. After the issue was resolved the EU gave its formal approval to begin accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania in March 2020.[1] However, in November 2020 Bulgaria has effectively blocked the official start of North Macedonia's EU Accession Negotiations over slow progress on the implementation of the 2017 Friendship Treaty between the two countries, state-supported or tolerated hate speech and minority claims towards Bulgaria.[2]

Macedonian EU accession bid
Status
Candidate Negotiating ❌ Screened ❌
Applied	24 March 2004
Approved	24 March 2020
Admitted	No
Website	Secretariat for European Affairs
Progress
Screening Progress	0% complete
Chapter Progress	0% complete
Ratification Progress	0% complete
Statistics
EU average North Macedonia PPP GDP ($M) 552,780 17,396 PPP per capita ($) 40,600 16,486 Area (km^2) 165,048 25,713 Population 18,583,598 2,038,514

History

North Macedonia began its formal process of rapprochement with the European Union in 2000, by initiating negotiations about the EU's Stabilisation and Association Process, and it became the first non-EU country in the Balkans to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), on 9 April 2001 in Luxembourg. The agreement was ratified by the Macedonian parliament on 12 April 2001 and came into force on 1 April 2004.

On 22 March 2004, Macedonia submitted its application for EU membership. On 6 September 2004, the Macedonian government adopted a National Strategy for European integration, supported by the country's parliament through its Commission for European Issues. The government subsequently began the procedure of answering the questionnaire of the European Commission regarding its performance in preparation for membership in accordance with the Copenhagen criteria, a process that was finished by 31 January 2005. The European Council officially granted the country candidate status on 17 December 2005, after a review and a positive recommendation of the candidacy by the European Commission.

After the naming dispute with Greece was solved in 2019, accession negotiations were expected to start within the same year, but in June 2019 the EU General Affairs Council decided to postpone the decision to October, due to objections from a number of countries including the Netherlands and France.[3] France vetoed the decision again in October.[4] On 25 March 2020 the Council of the European Union decided to open accession negotiations, which was endorsed by the European Council the following day.[5][6] However, on November 17, 2020 Bulgaria has blocked the official start of accession talks with the country.[7] North Macedonia is now expected to offer further guarantees to Bulgaria, that it will keep on a 2017 friendship treaty with Sofia, which deals with thorny historical issues.

Name dispute with Greece

A major obstacle for the accession process was the Republic's unresolved objection by Greece over its name, as Greece argued that it implied territorial ambitions towards Greece's own northern province of Macedonia. While the country preferred to be called by its constitutional name, Republic of Macedonia, the European Union, in acknowledgment of concerns raised by Greece, maintained a practice of recognising it only as the "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", a compromise of "provisional reference" introduced by the United Nations in 1993. Greece, as any other EU country, has veto power against new accessions, and blocked Macedonian accession due to the naming dispute.[8][9][10][11]

On 12 June 2018, an agreement was reached between Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev, known as the Prespa agreement,[12] under which the country would be renamed the "Republic of North Macedonia".[13] As part of this deal, Greece explicitly withdrew its previous opposition, allowing the EU to approve on 26 June 2018 a pathway to starting accession talks.[14]

Historical and linguistic dispute with Bulgaria

Although Bulgaria was the first country to recognize the independence of the then Republic of Macedonia, most of its academics, as well as the general public, do not recognize the Macedonian language and nation formed after the Second World War as being separate from Bulgarian proper.[15] Some North Macedonian politicians consider Bulgarian territory to be part of a greater Macedonia, claiming the majority of the population there are oppressed ethnic Macedonians.[16] Macedonia and Bulgaria signed a friendship treaty to improve their complicated relations in August 2017. A joint commission on historical and educational issues was formed in 2018 to serve as a forum where controversial historical and educational issues could be raised and discussed. According to the reports, this commission has made little progress in its work for a period of one year.[17] In October 2019, Bulgaria set out a “Framework position” warning that it would block the accession process unless North Macedonia fulfilled a number of demands regarding what Bulgaria perceived as "anti-Bulgarian ideology" in the country,[18][19] and ultimately over an 'ongoing nation-building process' based on historical negationism of the Bulgarian identity, culture and legacy in the broader region of Macedonia.[20][21][22] Bulgarian politicians claim North Macedonia remains the only country in NATO, that is an EU-candidate, which politics is based on communist historical and linguistic dogmas accepted by ASNOM.[23]

In September 2020 Bulgaria has sent an explanatory memorandum to the Council of the European Union containing its framework position on the accession of North Macedonia.[24] On November 17, 2020, Bulgaria refused to approve the European Union's negotiation framework for North Macedonia, effectively blocking the official start of accession talks with this country over slow progress on the implementation of the 2017 Friendship Treaty between the two countries, state-supported or tolerated hate speech and minority claims towards Bulgaria.[2] The veto received condemnation by intellectuals from both states[25] and criticism from international observers.[26][27]

Domestic politics

EU funding

North Macedonia is currently receiving €1.3 billion of development aid until 2020 from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, a funding mechanism for EU candidate countries.

Campaign

The government's motto for the candidacy is "The Sun, too, is a star.", referring to the sun from the flag of North Macedonia being displayed among the other stars in the flag of Europe.

Government structuring

North Macedonia's government has established a management infrastructure for the European integration process on the basis of a paper adopted in 1997 under the title "The strategic bases of the Republic of [North] Macedonia on achieving the membership of the European Union". It consists of the following institutions:

• The Committee for Euro-Atlantic Integration plays the central role in the decision-making of the country's policies in the European integration process. It is chaired by the Prime Minister with members including Deputy Prime Ministers, all ministers in the Government, the Governor of the National Bank of North Macedonia, and the President of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
• The Working Committee for European Integration of the Government of the Republic of [North] Macedonia (WCEI) – It is chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers in charge of EU Integration, whose deputy is the Minister of Economy. The members are the secretaries from all Ministries. It is an operational, inter-ministerial body establishing the methods and dynamics for implementation of strategic decisions, political guidelines and priorities of the Government, as well as monitoring the realisation of the concrete tasks.
• The Deputy to the President of the Government is responsible for the European integration as centre in the management and co-ordination of the operational part of the integration process. Its support and service is the Sector for European Integration within the General Secretariat of the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
• The Sector for European Integration within the Republic's government is given the task to organise, co-ordinate and synchronise the EU integration process. It is organised in seven units in charge of the approximation of the national legislation with that of the EU, translation of the EU legal acts, institution building, support to the WCEI, co-ordination of foreign assistance, and information to the broader public on EU and the European integration process.
• Departments/Sectors/Units for European Integration within the Ministries have similar structure and competencies as the central Sector for European Integration within the Government, being a key link in the institutional infrastructure.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs – EU domain – is responsible for communications with the EU structures through the Mission of former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in Brussels, gathering valid and timely information that have impact on the integration process and presenting the uniform perspectives and positions in the European structures.

The other institutions supporting the EU integration process are the following:

• the Republic's Assembly and its Commission for European Issues
• the Secretariat for Legislation
• the General Secretariat of the Government
• the Subcommittee of the WCEI for approximation of the legislation with its working groups

Ethnic Albanian sentiments

Sentiments among ethnic Albanians of North Macedonia are traditionally strongly pro-EU.[28]

Chronology of relations with the EU

Timeline

Date	Event
October 1992	The Republic of Macedonia appoints its representative in Brussels, agreeing to the use of the "former Yugoslav" before its constitutional name ("Republic of Macedonia") designation in bilateral relations.
22 December 1995	The Republic and the EU establish diplomatic relations. Negotiations commence directed at an agreement with a wide scope of co-operation in the fields of trade, financial operations and transport.
10 March 1996	Macedonia becomes a full partner in the PHARE Programme (Poland and Hungary: Assistance for Reconstruction of their Economies).
November 1997	The Transport Agreement enters into force
1 January 1998	The Cooperation Agreement enters into force.
February 1998	1st political talks on ministerial level are held in Ohrid, in accordance with the Cooperation Agreement.
11 March 1998	A Trade and Textile Agreement is signed (it remains in force until 1998 and is later replaced with a new agreement on 1 January 2000).
21 and 22 March 1998	1st meeting of a mutual Cooperation Council in Skopje.
5 March 1999	2nd meeting of the Cooperation Council in Brussels
24 January 2000	The European Commission adopts directives regarding co-operation and regarding the official start of negotiations for potential membership.
March 2000	Opening of the EU Delegation in Skopje; appointment of the first Chief of the Delegation.
5 April 2000	Start of 1st round of negotiations on the SAA.
June 2000	Adoption of a Perspective (regulation) on Potential Membership by the European Council in Fiera.
24 November 2000	The SAA is initiated at the Zagreb Summit.
December 2000	Entering into force of Council Regulation on Introducing Exceptional Trade Measures; Macedonia joins the Regional CARDS Programme 2002–2006.
16 February 2001	Interim Agreement on SAA Trade Provisions signed.
9 April 2001	SAA and Interim Agreement on Trade and Trade Issues signed. The Agreement enters into force on 1 June 2001.
January 2002	Supplementary Protocol on Wine and Spirits, and Textile Products Trade Agreement.
20 February 2003	The President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, visits Skopje, reconfirming the EU position on the country's perspective for EU membership.
25 July 2003	Last of 6 meetings of the Cooperation Council in Brussels.
February 2004	“Declaration on the Application for EU membership” signed by the Macedonian parliament.
22 March 2004	At a ceremony in Dublin, Ireland, the Macedonian government submitted the application for membership in the EU.
1 April 2004	SAA enters into force following the ratifications by all the EU Member States. Status of SAA ratification Event North Macedonia [29] Croatia [30] Albania [31] Montenegro [32][Note 1] Bosnia and Herzegovina [34] Serbia [35][Note 2] Kosovo* [36][Note 3] SAA negotiations start 2000-04-05 2000-11-24 2003-01-31 2005-10-10 2005-11-25 2005-10-10 2013-10-28[38] SAA initialled 2000-11-24 2001-05-14 2006-02-28 2007-03-15 2007-12-04 2007-11-07 2014-07-25[39] SAA/IA signature 2001-04-09 2001-10-29 2006-06-12 2007-10-15 2008-06-16 2008-04-29 2015-10-27[40] Interim Agreement: EC ratification 2001-04-27 2002-01-30 2006-06-12 2007-10-15 2008-06-16 2009-12-08 N/A [Note 4] SAP state ratification 2001-04-27 2002-01-30 2006-10-09 2007-11-14 2008-06-20 2008-09-22 N/A [Note 4] entry into force 2001-06-01 2002-03-01 2006-12-01 2008-01-01 2008-07-01 2010-02-01 N/A [Note 4] Deposit of the instrument of ratification: SAP state 2001-04-27 2002-01-30 2006-11-09 2007-11-13 2009-02-26 2008-09-22 2016-02-26 Austria 2002-09-06 2002-03-15 2008-05-21 2008-07-04 2009-09-04 2011-01-13 N/A Belgium 2003-12-29 2003-12-17 2008-10-22 2010-03-29 2010-03-29 2012-03-20 N/A Bulgaria entered the EU later 2008-05-30 2009-03-13 2010-08-12 N/A Croatia entered the EU later N/A Cyprus entered the EU later 2008-05-30 2008-11-20 2009-07-02 2010-11-26 N/A Czech Republic entered the EU later 2008-05-07 2009-02-19 2009-07-23 2011-01-28 N/A Denmark 2002-04-10 2002-05-08 2008-04-24 2008-06-25 2009-05-26 2011-03-04 N/A Estonia entered the EU later 2007-10-17 2007-11-22 2008-09-11 2010-08-19 N/A Finland 2004-01-06 2004-01-06 2007-11-29 2009-03-18 2009-04-07 2011-10-21 N/A France 2003-06-04 2003-06-04 2009-02-12 2009-07-30 2011-02-10 2012-01-16 N/A Germany 2002-06-20 2002-10-18 2009-02-19 2009-11-16 2009-08-14 2012-02-24 N/A Greece 2003-08-27 2003-08-27 2009-02-26 2010-03-04 2010-09-20 2011-03-10 N/A Hungary entered the EU later 2007-04-23 2008-05-14 2008-10-22 2010-11-16 N/A Ireland 2002-05-06 2002-05-06 2007-06-11 2009-06-04 2009-06-04 2011-09-29 N/A Italy 2003-10-30 2004-10-06 2008-01-07 2009-10-13 2010-09-08 2011-01-06 N/A Latvia entered the EU later 2006-12-19 2008-10-17 2009-11-12 2011-05-30 N/A Lithuania entered the EU later 2007-05-17 2009-03-04 2009-05-04 2013-06-26 N/A Luxembourg 2003-07-28 2003-08-01 2007-07-04 2009-06-11 2010-12-22 2011-01-21 N/A Malta entered the EU later 2008-04-21 2008-12-11 2010-01-07 2010-07-06 N/A Netherlands 2002-09-09 2004-04-30 2007-12-10 2009-01-29 2009-09-30 2012-02-27 N/A Poland entered the EU later 2007-04-14 2009-02-06 2010-04-07 2012-01-13 N/A Portugal 2003-07-14 2003-07-14 2008-07-11 2008-09-23 2009-06-29 2011-03-04 N/A Romania entered the EU later 2009-01-15 2010-01-08 2012-05-22 N/A Slovakia entered the EU later 2007-07-20 2008-07-29 2009-03-17 2010-11-11 N/A Slovenia entered the EU later 2007-01-18 2008-02-07 2009-03-10 2010-12-07 N/A Spain 2002-10-04 2002-10-04 2007-05-03 2009-03-12 2010-06-15 2010-06-21 N/A Sweden 2002-06-25 2003-03-27 2007-03-21 2009-03-11 2009-09-14 2011-04-15 N/A United Kingdom 2002-12-17 2004-09-03 2007-10-16 2010-01-12 2010-04-20 2011-08-11 N/A European Communities or European Union and Euratom 2004-02-25 2004-12-21 2009-02-26 2010-03-29 2015-04-30 2013-07-22 2016-02-24 [Note 5] SAA entry into force 2004-04-01 2005-02-01 2009-04-01 2010-05-01 2015-06-01 2013-09-01 2016-04-01[44] EU membership (SAA lapsed) (TBD) 2013-07-01 (TBD) (TBD) (TBD) (TBD) (TBD) N/A: Not applicable. Montenegro started negotiations in November 2005 while a part of Serbia and Montenegro (SiM). Separate technical negotiations were conducted regarding issues of sub-state organizational competency. A mandate for direct negotiations with Montenegro was established in July 2006. Direct negotiations were initiated on 26 September 2006 and concluded on 1 December 2006.[33] Serbia started negotiations in November 2005 while part of SiM, with a modified mandate from July 2006. Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008. Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the 2013 Brussels Agreement. Kosovo is currently recognized as an independent state by 99 out of the 193 United Nations member states. In total, 113 UN member states recognized Kosovo at some point, of which 14 later withdrew their recognition. The European Union remains divided on its policy towards Kosovo, with five EU member states not recognizing its independence. The EU launched a Stabilisation Tracking Mechanism for Kosovo on 6 November 2002 with the aim of aligning its policy with EU standards. On 10 October 2012 the European Commission found that there were no legal obstacles to Kosovo signing a SAA with the EU, as independence is not required for such an agreement.[37] No Interim Agreement associated with Kosovo's SAA was concluded.[41] Kosovo's SAA was the first signed after the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty, which conferred a legal personality to the EU. As a result, unlike previous SAAs Kosovo's is exclusively between it and the EU and Euratom, and the member states are not parties independently.[38][42][43]
3 June 2004	1st meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Committee held in Skopje.
6 September 2004	National Strategy for European Integration adopted by the Macedonian government.
14 September 2004	1st meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Council in Brussels.
1 October 2004	Questionnaire on accession preparation submitted to the Macedonian government by the European Commission.
31 January 2005	Answers to the Questionnaire finalised by the Macedonian government.
14 February 2005	Answers to the Questionnaire submitted to the European Commission by a Macedonian delegation in Brussels.
10 May 2005	Additional questions to the Questionnaire of the European Commission that were received on 22 April 2005 are answered, accepted by the Republic's government, and sent to Brussels.
9 November 2005	Positive recommendation on Macedonian accession issued by the European Commission.
17 December 2005	The European Council in Brussels approves the candidate status.
9 November 2006	The European Commission decides to start visa facilitation negotiations with the Republic.
23 June 2008	Following the EU summit, the resolution of the naming dispute was added as a precondition to EU accession.[45]
14 October 2009	The European Commission recommended the start of the accession negotiations for full-fledged membership of the Republic of Macedonia.[46]
29 March 2012	European Commission launches a High Level Accession Dialogue with Skopje.[47]
25 January 2019	The Prespa Agreement enters into force on 25 January 2019, ending the decades long naming-dispute. It is outlined in the agreement that Greece will no longer veto the accession talks between North Macedonia and the European Union.
26 March 2020	The European Council formally approved start of accession talks.[48]

Visa liberalisation process

On 1 January 2008 the visa facilitation and readmission agreements between Macedonia and the EU entered into force.[49] Macedonia began a visa liberalisation dialogue with the EU in February 2008 and was added to the list of visa exempt nationals on 19 December 2009, allowing their citizens to enter the Schengen Area, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania without a visa when travelling with biometric passports.[50]

Negotiation progress

The screening process is underway and no chapters have been opened thus far.

Screening and Chapter Dates

Progression	0 / 33 0% complete	0 / 33 0% complete	0 / 33 0% complete	0 / 33 0% complete
Acquis chapter	Screening Started	Screening Completed	Chapter Opened	Chapter Closed
1. Free Movement of Goods	–	–	–	–
2. Freedom of Movement For Workers	–	–	–	–
3. Right of Establishment & Freedom To Provide Services	–	–	–	–
4. Free Movement of Capital	–	–	–	–
5. Public Procurement	–	–	–	–
6. Company Law	–	–	–	–
7. Intellectual Property Law	–	–	–	–
8. Competition Policy	–	–	–	–
9. Financial Services	–	–	–	–
10. Information Society & Media	–	–	–	–
11. Agriculture & Rural Development	–	–	–	–
12. Food Safety, Veterinary & Phytosanitary Policy	–	–	–	–
13. Fisheries	–	–	–	–
14. Transport Policy	–	–	–	–
15. Energy	–	–	–	–
16. Taxation	–	–	–	–
17. Economic & Monetary Policy	–	–	–	–
18. Statistics	–	–	–	–
19. Social Policy & Employment	–	–	–	–
20. Enterprise & Industrial Policy	–	–	–	–
21. Trans-European Networks	–	–	–	–
22. Regional Policy & Coordination of Structural Instruments	–	–	–	–
23. Judiciary & Fundamental Rights	–	–	–	–
24. Justice, Freedom & Security	–	–	–	–
25. Science & Research	–	–	–	–
26. Education & Culture	–	–	–	–
27. Environment & Climate Change	–	–	–	–
28. Consumer & Health Protection	–	–	–	–
29. Customs Union	–	–	–	–
30. External Relations	–	–	–	–
31. Foreign, Security & Defence Policy	–	–	–	–
32. Financial Control	–	–	–	–
33. Financial & Budgetary Provisions	–	–	–	–
34. Institutions	–	–	–	–
35. Other Issues	–	–	–	–
Acquis chapter	Screening Started	Screening Completed	Chapter Opened	Chapter Closed
Progression	0 / 33 0% complete	0 / 33 0% complete	0 / 33 0% complete	0 / 33 0% complete

October 2020 European Commission Report[51]

Acquis chapter	Negotiation Status	Ability to Assume Acquis
Overview	33 chapters unopened 0 chapters open 0 chapters closed 2 chapters with nothing to adopt	Unopened 2 chapters at an early stage 1 chapter with some level of preparation 2 chapters with both "some level of preparation" AND "moderately prepared" 23 chapters with a moderate level of preparation 5 chapters with a good level of preparation 2 chapters with nothing to adopt
1. Free Movement of Goods	Unopened	Moderately prepared
2. Freedom of Movement For Workers	Unopened	Early stage
3. Right of Establishment & Freedom To Provide Services	Unopened	Moderately prepared
4. Free Movement of Capital	Unopened	Moderately prepared
5. Public Procurement	Unopened	Moderately prepared
6. Company Law	Unopened	Good level of preparation
7. Intellectual Property Law	Unopened	Moderately prepared
8. Competition Policy	Unopened	Moderately prepared
9. Financial Services	Unopened	Moderately prepared
10. Information Society & Media	Unopened	Moderately prepared
11. Agriculture & Rural Development	Unopened	Moderately prepared
12. Food Safety, Veterinary & Phytosanitary Policy	Unopened	Good level of preparation
13. Fisheries	Unopened	Moderately prepared
14. Transport Policy	Unopened	Moderately prepared
15. Energy	Unopened	Moderately prepared
16. Taxation	Unopened	Moderately prepared
17. Economic & Monetary Policy	Unopened	Moderately prepared
18. Statistics	Unopened	Moderately prepared
19. Social Policy & Employment	Unopened	Moderately prepared
20. Enterprise & Industrial Policy	Unopened	Moderately prepared
21. Trans-European Networks	Unopened	Good level of preparation
22. Regional Policy & Coordination of Structural Instruments	Unopened	Moderately prepared
23. Judiciary & Fundamental Rights	Unopened	Moderately prepared
24. Justice, Freedom & Security	Unopened	Moderately prepared
25. Science & Research	Unopened	Good level of preparation
26. Education & Culture	Unopened	Moderately prepared
27. Environment & Climate Change	Unopened	Some level of preparation
28. Consumer & Health Protection	Unopened	Moderately prepared
29. Customs Union	Unopened	Good level of preparation
30. External Relations	Unopened	Moderately prepared
31. Foreign, Security & Defence Policy	Unopened	Moderately prepared
32. Financial Control	Unopened	Moderately prepared
33. Financial & Budgetary Provisions	Unopened	Early stage
34. Institutions	Nothing to Adopt	N/A
35. Other Issues	Nothing to Adopt	N/A
Legend: Chapters in bold indicate completed chapters. indicates chapters in which the European Commission has simultaneously awarded the chapter both "some level of preparation" AND "moderately prepared".   totally incompatible   early stage   considerable efforts needed   some level of preparation   further efforts needed   moderately prepared   no major difficulties expected   good level of preparation   well prepared / well advanced

Report History

Acquis chapter	2011[52]	2012[53]	2013[54]	2014[55]	2015[56]	2016[57]	2018[58]	2019[59]	2020[60]
1. Free Movement of Goods	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
2. Freedom of Movement For Workers	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage
3. Right of Establishment & Freedom To Provide Services	Early stage	Moderately prepared	Further efforts needed	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
4. Free Movement of Capital	Further efforts needed	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
5. Public Procurement	Well prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
6. Company Law	Considerable efforts needed	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation
7. Intellectual Property Law	Further efforts needed	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
8. Competition Policy	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
9. Financial Services	Further efforts needed	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
10. Information Society & Media	Further efforts needed	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
11. Agriculture & Rural Development	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
12. Food Safety, Veterinary & Phytosanitary Policy	Good level of preparation	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage	Some level of preparation	Some level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation
13. Fisheries	Moderately prepared	Further efforts needed	Further efforts needed	Further efforts needed	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
14. Transport Policy	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
15. Energy	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
16. Taxation	Further efforts needed	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
17. Economic & Monetary Policy	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
18. Statistics	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
19. Social Policy & Employment	Considerable efforts needed	Considerable efforts needed	Early stage	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
20. Enterprise & Industrial Policy	Some level of preparation	Considerable efforts needed	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
21. Trans-European Networks	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation
22. Regional Policy & Coordination of Structural Instruments	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Some level of preparation	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
23. Judiciary & Fundamental Rights	Considerable efforts needed	Further efforts needed	Further efforts needed	Further efforts needed	Some level of preparation	Some level of preparation	Some level of preparation	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
24. Justice, Freedom & Security	Further efforts needed	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Further efforts needed	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
25. Science & Research	Considerable efforts needed	Further efforts needed	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation
26. Education & Culture	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
27. Environment	Considerable efforts needed	Further efforts needed	Further efforts needed	Further efforts needed	Moderately prepared	Some level of preparation	Some level of preparation	Some level of preparation	Some level of preparation
28. Consumer & Health Protection	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
29. Customs Union	No major difficulties expected	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation	Good level of preparation
30. External Relations	Some level of preparation	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
31. Foreign, Security & Defence Policy	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
32. Financial Control	Further efforts needed	Early stage	Early stage	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared	Moderately prepared
33. Financial & Budgetary Provisions	Totally incompatible with acquis	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage	Early stage
34. Institutions	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt
35. Other Issues	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt	Nothing to adopt
Legend: Chapters in bold indicate completed chapters. indicates chapters in which the European Commission has simultaneously awarded the chapter both "some level of preparation" AND "moderately prepared".   totally incompatible   early stage   considerable efforts needed   some level of preparation   further efforts needed   moderately prepared   no major difficulties expected   good level of preparation   well prepared / well advanced

Impact of joining

Member countries	Population	Area (km^2)	GDP (billion US$)	GDP per capita (US$)	Languages
North Macedonia	2,058,539	25,713	10.98	4,935	Macedonian
EU27	446,824,564	4,136,556	17,267	39,114	24
EU27+1	448,883,103 (+0.47%)	4,162,269 (+0.62%)	17,277.98 (+0.06%)	38,957 (–0.4%)	25

See also

• North Macedonia–NATO relations
• Yugoslavia and the European Economic Community

References

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External links

• Relations of the European Union with North Macedonia
• Secretariat of European Affairs of North Macedonia