Political Risk:

Moderate

Score:

66/100

Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency

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Q1 83/100

Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?

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Formal rights Score: 100 / 100
The National Assembly of North Macedonia has complete legislative power in the country [1]. Its exact role in the defence realm is defined as…
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Effectiveness Score: 75 / 100
The effectiveness of Parliаment in general, and in the realm of defence in particular, is limited. Formally, Parliament and the Committee on Defence and…
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Independent legislature scrutiny Score: 75 / 100
Many reports from the Central Security Office (CSO) have noted that the Parliament is formally independent, but in practice this autonomy is compromised [1].…
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Q2 58/100

Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?

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Formal rights Score: 100 / 100
The parliamentary Committee for Defence and Security (CDS) is tasked with overseeing and controlling the defence sector. The Rules and Procedures of the Assembly…
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Expertise Score: 75 / 100
The composition of the Defence and Security Committee is varied. It consists of experts in their field; experienced Members of Parliament who have been…
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Responsive policymaking Score: 100 / 100
The Defence and Security Committee regularly reviews country defence strategies or major defence policies depending on the time required for the preparation and publication…
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Short-term oversight Score: 25 / 100
The Defence and Security Committee oversees and reviews the defence budget and spending on an annual basis. In the past year, the Committee has…
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Long-term oversight Score: 0 / 100
There is no publicly available information on long-term investigations with regards to defence activities. The 2015 Difi report noted that this is partly because…
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Institutional outcomes Score: 50 / 100
The Defence and Security Committee overviews defence policies but irregularly issues amendments or recommendations. During the post-2016 period, there is evidence of Committee recommendations…
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Q3 69/100

Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?

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Scope of involvement Score: 100 / 100
Macedonian defence policies and security strategies have been frequently debated. Due to sharing responsibilities across the sectors of defence and security, executive and legislative…
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Scope of debate Score: 50 / 100
The core of recent debates has been shaped by major security threats such as terrorism and transnational organised crime including corruption, regional conflicts and…
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Public consultations Score: 50 / 100
In the last 5 years, a number of public consultations have been organised. In particular, the Ministry of Defence has been very active in…
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Transparency Score: 75 / 100
Documents relating to defence and security are easily accessible to the public: they are declared public and as such are publicly available [1]. However,…
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Q4 67/100

Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?

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Policy of openness Score: 100 / 100
The Ministry of Defence, following the political changes of 2016, pursued a policy of “equal partnership with the civil society” and “active transparency” in…
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CSO protections Score: 50 / 100
The Constitution guarantees the citizens’ right to free association [1]. Legislation has existed since 1998 to regulate Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) with the latest…
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Practice of openness Score: 50 / 100
There is no record of active cooperation between the Ministry of Defence and CSOs on the issue of corruption. However, on the Ministry of…
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Q5 75/100

Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?

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Signatory and Ratification status Score: 100 / 100
North Macedonia signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) on August 18, 2005 and ratified it on April 13, 2007 [1]. The Convention…
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Compliance Score: 50 / 100
North Macedonia has formally adopted most of the legislation endorsed by the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and has also signed a number…
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Q6 75/100

Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?

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Public debate Score: 75 / 100
Given North Macedonia’s specific geo-strategic position in the Balkans, as well as its fragile internal state, issues of defence and security have been a…
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Government engagement in public discourse Score: 75 / 100
The Government has been generally transparent with the public regarding issues in the defence sector. The Government communicates its policies through public forums, an…
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Q7 75/100

Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?

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Anti-corruption policy Score: 75 / 100
There is no specific anti-corruption policy for the defence sector at a national level. The country strategy for anti-corruption is reflected in the Law…
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Effective implementation Score: 75 / 100
The MoD implemented an Integrity Plan 2016-2019 with an Action Plan. The Integrity Plan is a three year document that focuses on institutional weaknesses.…
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Q8 75/100

Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?

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Mandate and resources Score: 75 / 100
Core units responsible for building integrity and countering corruption within the Ministry of Defence are the Internal Audit Department (IAD) and the Inspectorate of…
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Independence Score: 75 / 100
All units report directly to a senior member of the Ministry of Defence, Formally, the Internal Audit Department (IAD) is directly subordinated to the…
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Effectiveness Score: 75 / 100
The 2016 Integrity Plan of the Ministry of Defence addressed the levels of awareness concerning corruption risks among the Ministry of Defence and Army…
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Q9 NS/100

Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?

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Score: NS / 100
This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. Public opinion surveys portray the military and defence sectors as the least corrupted. Transparency…
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Q10 75/100

Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?

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Risk assessments Score: 75 / 100
Until 2015, no specific corruption-risk assessment had been carried out within the Ministry of Defence. Corruption cases that emerged were not actioned against by…
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Regularity Score: 100 / 100
The 2016 Ministry of Defence Integrity Plan is built up over three years. It is reviewed on a regular and case by case basis,…
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Inputs to anti-corruption policy Score: 50 / 100
The risk assessment mechanisms within the defence sector have significantly improved since 2015. The Integrity Plan offers an institutionalised and functional approach on a…
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Defence Budgets

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Q11 67/100

Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?

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Acquisition planning process Score: 75 / 100
The Public Procurement Bureau, acting under the Law on Public Procurement, outlines Macedonia’s public acquisition processes [1]. The Law stipulates that this process must…
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Transparency Score: 75 / 100
The Ministry of Defence publishes its annual procurement plans on its website while, although their planning process is internal. In 2015, the Ministry of…
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External oversight Score: 50 / 100
The Defence and Security Council reviews annual defence procurements, and Parliament is involved in this process. The main tasks for the Defence and Security…
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Q12 63/100

Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?

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Comprehensiveness Score: 75 / 100
The defence budget is transparent and contains all information on expenditures across sectors: expenses directed towards administration, procurement, equipment, personnel, logistics and training are…
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Timeliness Score: 50 / 100
Parliament, regularly receives overall budget proposal, including for defence provisions. The Law on Budgets stipulates that the Ministry of Finance will submit the draft…
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Q13 50/100

Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?

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Formal rights Score: 50 / 100
The Law on National Assembly outlines the representative character and supreme legislative power of the Parliament [1] while the Rules and Procedures of the…
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Influence on decision-making Score: 50 / 100
The Committee on Defence and Security reviews defence policies and issues amendments and recommendations. During the post-2016 period, the Ministry of Defence clearly incorporated…
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Q14 92/100

Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?

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Proactive publication Score: 75 / 100
The defence budget is published on the Ministry of Defence website [1]. The defence sections of the national budget can also be accessed through…
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Comprehensiveness Score: 100 / 100
There are no public restrictions in reviewing the budget: it is available to all interested stakeholders. Article 2 of the Rulebook on transparency of…
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Response to information requests Score: 100 / 100
Formally, the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Character ensures that defence-related information is released to the public [1]. The Ministry of…
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Q15 50/100

Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?

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Transparency Score: 75 / 100
At the end of each year, the Ministry of Defence publishes its final financial balance sheets in which all sources of income are disclosed…
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Institutional scrutiny Score: 75 / 100
The Internal Audit Department (IAD) as well as the State Audit Office (SAO) scrutinise the Ministry of Defence’s financial reports, including non-central income sources.…
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Public scrutiny Score: 0 / 100
There is no evidence of public scrutiny over the Ministry of Defence’s non-budgetary sources of income.
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Q16 63/100

Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?

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Activity Score: 75 / 100
The Law on Public Internal Financial Control shapes the legal framework for internal audit processes [1]. In accordance with the Law, the Internal Audit…
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Enabling oversight Score: 50 / 100
Despite not being explicitly stated in its responsibilities [1], the parliamentary Committee on Defence and Security may oversee and review the Ministry of Defence’s…
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External scrutiny Score: 50 / 100
Legally, there is no external oversight of the audit work carried out by the Internal Audit Department (IAD); there is as such no obligation…
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Institutional outcomes Score: 75 / 100
The Ministry of Defence prepares action plans to eliminate any irregularities in operations stated in the audit reports from the Internal Audit Department (IAD).…
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Q17 63/100

Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?

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Activity Score: 75 / 100
External audits are conducted by the State Audit Office (SAO). In accordance with the Law on State Audit, the SAO is entitled to audit…
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Independence Score: 75 / 100
As stipulated by the Law on State Audit, the State Audit Office (SAO) is independent in its work and is defined as a state…
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Transparency Score: 50 / 100
The process is transparent and reports on the audits carried out are published on the websites of the Sate Audit Office [1] and that…
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Institutional outcomes Score: 50 / 100
The Law on State Audit stipulates that the audited body is obliged to inform the State Audit Office (SAO) and its supervising body of…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets

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Q18 NEI/100

Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?

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Legal framework Score: 100 / 100
Article 56 of the Constitution [1] and Articles 225, 226 and 234 of the Criminal Code [2] set the legal framework for the protection…
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Defence institutions: Financial or controlling interests in practice Score: 100 / 100
Except for a small camping site (St. Naum) which is part of the Galicica national park, cases of the involvement of defence institutions in…
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Individual defence personnel: Financial or controlling interests in practice Score: NEI / 100
There is not enough information to score this indicator. There may or may not be cases of individual defence personnel involved in natural resource…
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Transparency Score: NA / 100
This indicator has been marked Not Applicable, as there is no evidence of defence institutions having controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with…
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Scrutiny Score: NA / 100
This indicator has been marked Not Applicable, as there is no evidence of defence institutions having controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with…
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Organised Crime

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Q19 63/100

Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?

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Penetration of organised crime Score: 50 / 100
Prior to 2015, a number of high-profile corruption cases within the Ministry of Defence suggested the spread of organised crime. In 2007, the ex-Minister…
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Government response Score: 75 / 100
The Ministry of Defence clearly always condemns acts of crime within its own staff and offers support for investigations. The Ministry also highlights its…
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Q20 88/100

Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?

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Existence of policing function Score: 100 / 100
The Ministry of the Interior and the national police are tasked with fighting organised crime and corruption in the defence sector. The Law on…
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Independence Score: 75 / 100
The Organised Crime Department acts within the institutional framework of the Ministry of the Interior. It is placed in the Central Police Services and…
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Effectiveness Score: NEI / 100
There is not enough evidence to score this indicator. Prior to 2015, a few high-profile corruption cases in the Ministry of Defence were investigated…
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Control of Intelligence Services

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Q21 50/100

Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?

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Independence Score: 50 / 100
The policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services are surveyed by the parliamentary Committee for Supervising the Work of the Security and Counter-Intelligence…
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Effectiveness Score: 50 / 100
The Committee for Supervising the Work of the Security and Counter-Intelligence Directorate and the Intelligence Agency (CSWSCIDIA) has access to classified information. Committee members…
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Q22 38/100

Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?

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Objective selection criteria Score: 25 / 100
The criteria for selecting senior staff in the Security and Counter – Intelligence Directorate (SCID) within the Ministry of Interior and the Intelligence Agency…
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Selection bias Score: 50 / 100
The political influence in the selection process of candidates has been problematic for a while. A 2012 report on the work of the intelligence…
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Vetting process Score: NEI / 100
There is not enough evidence to score this indicator. At the time of research for the GDI, the Security and Counter – Intelligence Directorate…
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Export Controls

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Q23 67/100

Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?

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Signatory and Ratification Score: 100 / 100
Macedonia signed the Arms Trade Treaty on September 25, 2013. It was ratified on March 7, 2014 and entered into force on December 24,…
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Compliance Score: 100 / 100
The Law on Production and Transfer of Weapons and Military Equipment complies with each of the three Arms Trade Treaty articles [1]. The North…
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Parliamentary scrutiny Score: 0 / 100
The North Macedonia is a minor arms exporter. Although this might explain, it does not justify the lack of parliamentary debate on the issues…
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Lobbying in Defence

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Q76 44/100

Does the country regulate lobbying of defence institutions?

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Legal framework Score: 75 / 100
The country framework for regulating lobbying activity is the Law on Lobbying dating back to 2008 [1]. This Law defines the basic categories in…
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Disclosure: Public officials Score: 25 / 100
There is no requirement for defence officials to publish a record of lobbying meetings. However, they do publish a list of personnel assets for…
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Lobbyist registration system Score: 25 / 100
The registration system for lobbyists is led by the General Secretary of the Parliament and remains public, according to Article 10 of the Law…
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Oversight & enforcement Score: 50 / 100
The State Anti-Corruption Commission is the overseeing body (Article 24). It has a clear mandate but is under-resourced. The work of the Commission stalled…
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