Ohrid, 13th October 2011 (MIA) – EC Progress Report reaffirms the proper way Republic of Macedonia manages the challenges of the current global economic situation, Vice Premier and Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski said on Thursday.
Commenting on the Progress Report, Stavreski pointed out the fact that the Report does not at all elaborate on the current Eurozone developments, assessing that it certainly affects the smaller economies such as Macedonia.
– It is obvious that the only aspect not elaborated in the Report is the general Eurozone developments, which represents a risk for regional economies, including Macedonia. As representatives of countries from the region, we urge European politicians to do everything in their power to find a solution to the current situation, since it has adverse effects on smaller economies in Southeast Europe as well. We are doing everything to sustain the sound fiscal position by increasing capital investments and providing external financing for the SMEs, Minister of Finance pointed out. As regards the threat of the European crisis to the Macedonian economy and the operations of the export-oriented companies, Minister Stavreski said that the risks are there since trends in Europe can have positive effects neither on the Macedonian nor any economy.
– At the same time, we have to be objective and say that macroeconomic indicators in Macedonia show better performance compared to any country in the region, not only with respect to the economic growth regarding which Macedonia has shown sound performance in the first half in 2011, but also with respect to the indebtedness level, Macedonia being one of the countries with the lowest indebtedness level, which is very important in the present conditions from the aspect of trade deficit, which we fully control, and the low level of budget deficit. We will do everything in our power, however it is up to Europe to deal with the debt issue in certain states, as well as the lack of competitiveness of certain peripheral economies, Stavreski emphasized.
Minister of Finance pointed out that the country remained oriented towards providing external financing under favorable conditions, although, as he said, capital market has become increasingly risky.
– We have worked hard together with the World Bank in the past period, which will provide assistance aimed at reducing the costs for securing EUR 130 million under the best possible conditions, Stavreski added.
As for the securities market, he said that the Government worked towards offering both short-term and long-term securities.
– By the end of this year, we plan to issue long-term securities. There will be another auction of five-year domestic securities by the end of the year, for which we already have bids from pension funds and certain banks, Stavreski said.