At the press conference organized by the Economic Chamber of North-West Macedonia held on 26.12.2024 at the premises of the ECNWM, the President of the Chamber, Mr. Mendi Qyra, presented the economic developments and challenges of 2024, as well as the main expectations and requests of the Chamber for 2025.
Regarding the economic challenges faced by the country in 2024, Mr. Qyra highlighted the low level of implementation of capital projects, at only 47% by November 2024, delays in VAT refunds for companies, as well as challenges with the lack of the working force, for which businesses in the country are looking for about 15 thousand workers. Mr. Qyra emphasized that the informal economy amounts to over 35% to 39% of GDP, and that in the “best” scenario of the ECNWM analysis, this annually costs the country over 700 million euros, while in the “worst” scenario, it exceeds the value of 1.7 billion euros, which are potential losses of budget revenues. The President of the Chamber emphasized that during 2024 in foreign trade, the country has recorded a significant decline in exports of 5.5% for the period January – October alone, from 7 billion euros in 2023 of the same periods, to 6.56 billion euros in 2024. He underlined that the freezing of prices of school and food products is a direct intervention in the free market.
Speaking about the positive achievements of 2024, the President of the ECNWM, Mendi Qyra, highlighted the record of foreign direct investments, which reached 838 million euros, the establishment of the Ministry of Energy, which has been a long-standing request of the ECNWM, the voting on the National Development Strategy, also a long-standing request of the Chamber. President Qyra emphasized that positive actions that have been marked in the current year are also the partial incorporation of the ECNWM Economic Development Platform into the platforms of the governing parties, the adoption of the Law for the Prohibition of Unfair Trade Practices, the start of work on Corridors 8 and 10D, the distribution of 250 million euros, low-interest liquid funds for business and 250 million euros low-interest liquid funds for municipalities, but also the solidarity of businesses with citizens, as well as the positive approach of the Government to create the New Year’s basket on a voluntary basis. Also, Mr. Qyra welcomed the start of the procedure for reviewing the Solidarity Tax Law.
President Mendi Qyra also spoke about the expectations and demands of the ECNWM for the economy in 2025. He emphasized that urgent measures are needed to address the gray economy, which is over 35% of GDP and constitutes a major burden on the state budget, as well as to increase the transparency and efficiency of public institutions. Mr. Qyra placed particular emphasis on the importance of new measures and strategies to address these challenges and create a strong foundation for sustainable economic growth in 2025. Among the demands and priorities identified for the coming year, Mr. Qyra highlighted:
- GDP growth of over 4% in the next 4 years,
- Increasing the net minimum wage to 500 euros and reducing wage contributions from 47.7% to 32%,
- Making the system for importing labor from abroad functional,
- Developing strategies for retraining public administration employees and allocating them to the private sector
- Rationalizing budget expenditures and measures to reduce inflation,
- Full implementation of capital investments, and
- Implementation of major projects such as Corridor 8 and 10D.
The President of the ECNWM also requested the Government to increase the budget for capital investments at an annual level, by 14% and more, to revise and put into operation the new system for importing working forces from abroad, to rationalize budget expenditures, to implement the principle of accountability for the heads of institutions and to take adequate macroeconomic measures to reduce inflation, in cooperation with the Economic Chamber. As important measures that the Government should take, Mr. Qyra also underlined the allocation of foreign direct investments equally in all Technological Industrial Development Zones, the inclusion of all sectors and activities in the Hungarian credit, not excluding tourism and energy. He also emphasized that the adoption of economic laws should be done only in cooperation with the Economic Chamber, as well as the concretization of steps towards decentralization.
The conference was also attended by the Executive Director and members of the Managing Board of the ECNWM, who analyzed and defined the priorities that should be the focus of the Government during the coming year, while also evaluating the positive achievements of the past year. They emphasized the importance of close cooperation between state institutions and the private sector to draft economic policies that effectively address the needs of business and citizens.
The ECNWM remains committed to being a strong voice of business in the country, offering specific and analysis-based proposals for the economic development of North Macedonia.
