REGIONAL COOPERATION AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
REGIONAL COOPERATION AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
REGIONAL COOPERATION AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
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PART II:<br />
stimulated the growth rate of the Macedonian imports of 4.42% and the growth rate of<br />
Macedonian exports of only 2.18% per year (Kikerkova, 2007:268).<br />
Before signing the multilateral free trade agreement CEFTA-2006, the trade cooperation<br />
with countries from the region was a form than a relity. The other countries in the region of<br />
Western Balkans cannot boast with a better fate than the one of the Republic of Macedonia.<br />
Pushed in the same “mold” of the export-de-stimulating, that is to say the import-stimulating<br />
transition model (Croatia and Albania), totally dependent on the foreign aid (Bosnia and<br />
Herzegovina), beginners in the process of reformation (Serbia and Montenegro), they, alike<br />
the Republic of Macedonia, go “backwards” on the path of the economic and political<br />
changes, lagging in every sense not only behind the developed countries, but also behind<br />
the other transition economies. This is why the mutual economic contacts of the Western<br />
Balkan countries are more of a formal character than of a real regional cooperation.<br />
Signing the multilateral free trade agreement CEFTA-2006, the situation in the regional<br />
foreign trade started to alter quantitatively. The scope of exchange goods with all countries<br />
increases, and Macedonian exports exceeds the Macedonian imports. But the structure<br />
of exchanged goods remained the same. The inference is that without changes in the<br />
structure of export sector of the economy we can not expect a vivid economic growth<br />
and development, and the trade deficit will persist as one of the major macroeconomic<br />
problem.<br />
The reasons for the bad economic situation in Macedonia, and its economic trade<br />
cooperation should be looked for in the inadequate transitional model, the too technical<br />
approach towards reforms, the strong insisting on stabilization instead on development<br />
components, the emphasis on speed instead on efficiency, the “imported” economic policy,<br />
the external shocks… All of them together resulted into negative economic performances.<br />
We also disagree with comments saying that a part of the blame for the negative situation<br />
in the domain of regional cooperation is to be searched in the incapability of the managerial<br />
structure in the Macedonian industry, which is allegedly “not restructured and market<br />
oriented.” We deeply believe that the management is not just the reason, but more the<br />
consequence of the development and the surroundings in which it is located. So, assuming<br />
again, if the managers are irreproachably doing their job, the regional trends of cooperation<br />
will not experience a positive turning point without institutional changes. On the other<br />
hand, the Republic of Macedonia does not have a proper export strategy, and therefore<br />
it does not have an elaborated export politics that could stimulate the exports production<br />
at least within the limits of the rules of the EU and the WTO. “The export is no longer<br />
a question of choice; it is the only option offering healthy perspectives on the long run”<br />
(Temenugova, 2003). While claiming this, we take into consideration the undisputable<br />
fact that the Republic of Macedonia actually does not have an export offer due to a very<br />
simple fact – it has no adequate production (the Macedonian GDP has not yet reached<br />
the level it used to have in 1989). The amortized equipment (80%), the low usage of the<br />
capacities (20-30%), the high unemployment rate (34%), the lack of investments (domestic<br />
and foreign), the raw material-base production structure, the high (internal and external)<br />
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