S&T Country Report - Albania - WBC-INCO Net

private sector) are necessary to be established to jointly reach the goals of the SME
strategy. This will be supported by a unified and harmonised definition of SMEs and
the clear formulation of intervention criteria for SME support. The implementation of
the revised SME strategy will be undertaken by SME programmes (medium-term and
annual).
The legal environment and business climate do not sufficiently support
entrepreneurship development. In spite of the one-stop-system, the business
registration process remains complex, the “silence is consent” principle only applies
to the registration of crafts, while their registration is not integrated with that of trade
companies. For some SMEs, market entry is further constrained by cumbersome and
costly licensing procedures. The lack of formal and systematic regulatory impact
assessment (RIA) precludes a clear understanding of the positive and negative
impacts on SMEs, while relevant EU Directives are not fully transposed to national
legislation (Ministry of Economy 2007).
The following recommendations can be given:
• Ensure effective coordination between national level (Ministry, SME Agency)
and local level (regional development agencies);
• Consult policies with business sector at all stages of the process;
• Exchange good practice between the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia and European countries in conducting the research policy with the
aim to establish a knowledge-based society;
• Strengthen linkages between the private industry and science communities
and strengthen the science-business interface;
• Assure sustainability on innovation infrastructure in FYR of Macedonia
(continuous public funding);
• Create a strategy for business incubators and allocate funds for them;
• Establish technology and science parks;
• Increase investment in R&D;
• Promote technological co-operation between SMEs;
• Facilitate the access of Macedonian research institutions to research data
bases;
• Consider using targeted incentives for investments in new technologies;
• Increase awareness of benefits of innovation infrastructure;
page 30/MKD