Macedonia made significant progress in implementing the reforms envisaged in the reform agenda, as evidenced by the disbursement of two tranches of funds under the Western Balkans Growth Plan, concludes the latest EU progress report, which the European Commission will officially publish on Tuesday.

The Macedonian authorities have continued to work on implementing the roadmaps for the rule of law, the reform of public administration and the functioning of democratic institutions, as well as the action plan for the protection of minorities, the report says.

However, it notes that the country needs to intensify efforts to respect the rule of law, in particular the protection of the independence and integrity of the judiciary, and to strengthen the fight against corruption, assessing that “limited progress” has been achieved in the area of ​​judicial reform.

The report cites the establishment of the Council for Cooperation between the Government and civil society as a positive development and assesses that the country has made some progress in terms of pluralism and freedom of the media and freedom of expression.

The European Commission also points out in the document that the country is fully aligned with the EU’s foreign and security policy, as well as being one of the countries that joined the Convention on Common Transit, which aims to accelerate the movement of goods across borders.

The report also reiterates its previously expressed position on the need to implement “in good faith on all sides” the concluded bilateral agreements, including the Prespa Agreement with Greece and the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation with Bulgaria.

It also notes that the constitutional amendments aimed at including non-majority citizens, such as Bulgarians, in the Constitution, to which the country has undertaken a commitment, have not yet been adopted.