Hristova Zaevska: Macedonia is the most integrated in terms of the share of exports going to the EU

Economic development and green finance expert Olimpija Hristova Zaevska from Skopje said that deeper integration with the European Union could help Western Balkan countries increase their gross domestic product (GDP) by 15 percent, according to an estimate by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“This is an IMF working paper, and the figure of 15 percent seems quite encouraging. Of course, if you read it, you can see that there is a range of seven to 15 percent, depending on a country's progress. What is important to say about these estimates is that this is achievable,” Hristova Zaevska told Kosovo Online.

She does not view the news as something new, but rather as a reminder that even before joining the EU, economic integration, accompanied by reforms, is very important and can bring benefits to the population, while full integration, as she emphasized, would undoubtedly bring much greater benefits.

“If you look at that paper, Macedonia ranks first in terms of European investment, and it is the most integrated in terms of the share of its exports going to the EU. The main point is to remind people that reforms should be treated as serious steps even before full membership, because they already bring economic benefits,” Hristova Zaevska said.

According to her, economic integration with the European Union can advance before possible full membership, thanks to the reform agenda under the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

“Yes, that is precisely what the reform agenda currently underway is about. It has provided a certain impetus. The main assumption is that institutions are on a clear path toward the EU and are seriously working on reforms, because institutional capacity is the foundation for exports,” Hristova Zaevska said.

Asked about the biggest obstacles to accessing the European Union market, she said that transport was one of them, but stressed that more work was also needed to bring production quality closer to EU standards.

“If you lose a huge amount of time waiting at borders, that affects your GDP, and this is where we are stagnating. With the latest passport checks and the EU system, transport is genuinely being affected, and I know that chambers of commerce are working very actively with the EU to find some kind of solution. As for aligning standards and whether our products are of sufficient quality to enter this market, I think we still have work to do in that area as well,” said economic development and green finance expert Olimpija Hristova Zaevska.