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The FYR of Macedonia profile
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| Capital city: |
Skopje |
| Surface area: |
26,000 sq km |
| Population: |
2 million |
| Official language(s): |
Macedonian |
| Head of State: |
H.E. President Mr Branko Crvenkovski |
| Head of Government: |
H.E. Prime Minister Mr Nikola Gruevski |
| Australian exports to Macedonia, FYR |
A$2,037,000 |
| Australian imports from Macedonia, FYR |
A$3,578,000 |
| Macedonia's, FYR principal export destinations: |
Serbia and Montenegro, Germany, Greece |
| Macedonia's, FYR principal import sources: |
Russian Federation, Germany, Greece | (Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Country economic fact sheet) |
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The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) was one of the six republics of the former Yugoslavia and decided to go its own way when the federation broke up in 1991. Since then, it has been involved in a dispute with Greece, and was only admitted to the United Nations in 1993 with the compromise name of FYROM.
Macedonia is a sovereign republic with multi-party parliamentary democracy. Authority in Macedonia is based on the principle of strict division of functions and responsibilities among the holders of legislative, executive and judicial powers.
The President of Macedonia, Mr. Branko Crvenkovski, represents the Republic, and acts as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The President is elected on general and direct elections, with a mandate of five years, and a maximum of two terms.
The Parliament (Sobranie), the legislative body, is the central and most important institution of state authority. The unicameral assembly is composed of 120 Members of Parliament with four-year mandates. Members are elected by popular vote from party lists, based on the percentage parties gain of the overall vote in each of six election districts, 20 seats each.
Executive authority rests with the Government, which is headed by the Prime Minister, Mr. Nikola Gruevski. The cabinet ministers are appointed by the Prime Minister Designate and approved by a majority vote in the National Assembly.
The Macedonian legal system is based on civil law. The judiciary is constituted of basic and appellate courts, the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, and the Republican Judicial Council. Parliament appoints judges to serve on each of these courts.
In March 2001 there was considerable unrest in certain rural towns and villages due to the ethnic tension caused by Macedonia’s large Albanian minority and de facto independence of neighbouring Kosovo. In August 2001 a NATO force arrived to supervise the collection of arms from these Albanian groups. The Ohrid Frame Work Agreement ended the crisis in 2001.
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Trade relations and statistics
Membership of the European Union is the highest strategic interest and priority for the government, an objective shared by an overwhelming majority of Macedonia’s citizens and all political parties. Macedonia was the first country in South East Europe to sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union in 2001 in Luxemburg. Recognising the progress that Macedonia has made in meeting the Copenhagen criteria, the European Commission recommended granting Macedonia candidate country status for membership in the EU. On 17 December 2005, the European Council decided to grant Macedonia official candidate status for EU membership.
Macedonia is an aspiring member country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In the closing declaration from the NATO summit in Riga in 2006, Macedonia was included in the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). The organization has recognized the increasing contribution of Macedonia to international peacekeeping and security operations as well as its effort to improve regional cooperation.
Macedonia is a member of WTO- World Trade Organization. It has signed free trade agreements (FTA) with Turkey, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and will soon sign an FTA with Romania. The FTA’s make Macedonia a much bigger market. These FTAs enable FYROM to import larger quantities of wool, meat and other Australian goods that are manufactured and exported to these countries without customs.
Major Australian exports to Macedonia (2006-07):
- Toys, games and sporting goods – A$796,000
- Sound or video recorders – A$168,000
- Measuring and controlling instruments – A$108,000
- Electric power machinery – A$96,000
Major Australian imports from Macedonia (2006-07):
- Preserved vegetables – A$884,000
- Sauces and preparations – A$702,000
- Clothing – A$401,000
- Cereal preparations - A$364,000
(Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Country economic fact sheet)
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