its courts and itd bureaucrats, its banking system, its collateral system and its

property registrars are all poorly developed and dysfunctional to

varying degrees. This is a top priority of the last few administrations.
Legislation is adapted, law enforcement agents - especially judges -
are educated, mortgage registration collateral registration, company registrars -
all is being revamped. The aim is to provide investors with maximal protection
of their rights and property. Today the main problem is not securing property
rights or due process. The main problem is the
DELAY, the TIME LAG and the BACKLOG in doing so. This is an improvement over the
past - but it is still
a sorry state. Still, Macedonia being the small and informal country that it is,
the office of every minister and every civil
servant is open to investors, who are provided with unparalleled access to the
highest level of government. Moreover: Macedonia never had problems
of currency convertibility, repatriation of profits or investments or default. Its
debt is medium by international standards (60% of GDP, most of
it long term and to multilateral and international financial institutions). It has
9 months of imports in foreign currency reserves. Its debts
are trading at 75% of their face value - better than most developing countries, a
sign of international confidence in its obligations.
It has recently become only the second country in the world to prepay its Paris
Club debts. 8. Macedonia s Infrastructure is...
a. Decrepit and inadequate b. Like in other poor countries c. Sufficient but not
well maintained d. Excellent Most people answer... Like
in poor countries. WRONG!!! Don t forget that Macedonia was a part of one of the
most sophisticated markets in the world
- the Former Yogoslav Federation. Its infrastructure is insufficient and often
badly maintained - but not uniformly so. Some types of infrastructure
are highly developed, even by European standards. For instance, there are more than
100,000 mobile phone subscribers in a workforce of less
than 750,000 people. Macedonia has one of the most developed wireless netwroks in
Europe - it far surpasses the systems of Central
Europe. It is rich in electronic media. The Internet is gaining ground though
penetration is still low. It has a few German-quality
autobahns - connecting Macedonia to its neighbours and, in a few years, to every
country in Europe, West and East. 9. Macedonia
is Isolated and in a War Lone No American multiple choice here. Yes, Macedonia is
situated in a turbulent area. But it
is also an area bigger and more naturally edowed than Central Europe. And - with
the exception of the skirmishes with a
segment of its Albanian minority in 2001 - Macedonia has never been involved in any
war activities. It has always been an
island of stability and smooth democratic transition. It hasn t been isolated for
years now. Its neighbour Greece is one of its
greatest trading partners and investors. Its other neighbour Bulgaria has signed
with it a series of economic collaboration agreements, including a free
trade agreement. With the advent of the reconstruction of the Balkans, Macedonia is
a uniquely positioned multi-ethnic society, with Albanians and Macedonians
in its government. Trusted by all its neighbours, it is bound to become a pivotal
player in the stability and growth of
this part of the world. 10. Macedonia s Orientation is Not Clear It has always been
the same: "Prosperity " Growth
"Opportunities" Achievements "Happiness All these come today bundled with democracy
and one model or another of free market economy.
Macedonia has adopted both enthusiastically. It is a pro-Western, pro-European
country aspiring to become a memeber of the Euro-Atlantic structures. Hopefully, it
will. Return The Friendly Club The European Union (EU), Cyprus, and the Balkans
Cyprus, that beacon of political stability and financial rectitude,
was invited to negotiate its membership. Bulgaria, the epitome of good governance
and civil society as well as Malta the undisputed friend
of the West (remember Qaddafi?) - were among the list of new candidates handed
down in the Helsinki meet of the most
desired economic club on earth: the EU. To these were added Romania and its
collapsing economy. Macedonia was relegated to the "West
Balkan" group - a revolutionary re-definition of historical affiliations. In this
assemblage, it found itself rubbing shoulders with the disintergating Albania and
the pariah Yugoslavia. Croatia was ejected from this leper colony by virtue of the
death of its megalamaniac autocrat and his replacement
by ex-communits. Things have been very different only a few months ago, when the EU
and NATO needed the good and naive
service of Macedonia. It was honeyed courtship. Macedonia was then virtually
besieged by a flood of world class politicians, all eager
to make the acquaintance of the charming political class of the Balkans. Promises
were doled out with abandon. Blair promised tens of
millions. Clinton topped this by pledging hundreds of millons. And the grateful
West offered billions. In the meantime, Macedonia s infrastructure was
pulverized by heavy armour and light-footed refuges - a quarter of a million of
them. The people of the Balkans are the
off spring of broken promises. Their village shrewdness (which is not to be
confused with worldly sophistication) predisposed them not to trust
the kindness of strangers. Their in-bred paranoia led them to attribute prophetic
foresight, sharp planning and intricate conspiracy to what were mere
stumbling and bumbling on the part of the West and its mighty NATO. The
disillusionment came fast and painlessly. To live in
fantasy is often more rewarding than to have it fulfilled and many Macedonians were
grategul for the intermission in their hundred years
of solitude. The hangover, the bitter aftertaste, the sore muscles of the morning
after - the Macedonians accepted all these with unusual
grace. But as insults were added to injuries, a sense of betrayal evolved. They
felt exploited and discarded, objectified and dehumanized by
super-powers of mythical proportions. They felt abused and deceived. Used to
getting the short end of every stick - this time there
was no stick at all. Having been thus manipulated and largely unable to direct
their anger at the vertiable sources of their
frustration - they turned upon themselves in internecine squabbling, disgraced and
flounted. This was further exacerbated by incessant preaching and hectoring of
the respresentatives of those powers which thus forsake them. By the very people
who reneged on promises. By countries and politicians whose
own domestic politics and personal conduct were an object and object lesson not to
be emulated. Countries imbued with corruption preached to
the Macedonians about good governance. Countries which suppressed their minorities
in bloody campaigns reprimanded Macedonia for its treatment of its own minorities.
Countries which sold weapons to every despicable dictator in every corner of the
earth - prevented Macedonia from trading with its neighbours.
Of the money promised - very little materialized. The blazing trail of West
European and American movie stars and presidents became a
trickle of East European politicians and Brussels bureaucrats. Membershio became
association, association become new association and new association went nowhere as
dates
were postponed and dates kept were used as photo-oppurtunities by synthetic Western
leaders. If anyone should have been invited to join the
EU it is poor Macedonia. Poor - but not as poor as Romania, for instance. Any
comparison of the two bespeaks