Macédoine du Nord
Les travaux dans le domaine de l’éducation, retenus comme l’une des priorités du Pacte de stabilité, sont un volet essentiel pour former le capital humain et promouvoir la paix et les valeurs démocratiques. Il a été demandé à l’OCDE d’assurer la coordination des activités du Groupe spécial sur l’éducation et la jeunesse dans le domaine de la politique générale de l’éducation et de la transformation des systèmes éducatifs et de réaliser des examens thématiques des politiques nationales d’éducation dans les pays de cette région. Ce projet a abouti à l’établissement de rapports sur chacun des pays et à une synthèse régionale qui offrent une analyse des systèmes éducatifs, des problèmes en jeu et des obstacles à la réforme. Ils présentent des recommandations, utiles aux décideurs publics nationaux, qui devraient permettre aux pays et organismes partenaires du Pacte de stabilité de mieux cibler l’aide régionale afin de faciliter l’intégration européenne des pays de l’Europe du Sud-Est. Cette étude s'inscrit dans le cadre des relations de coopération que l'OCDE entretient avec les économies non membres de diverses régions du monde.
Educational work is a key element for both human capital formation and the promotion of peace and democratic values. It has therefore been identified as one of the priorities of the Stability Pact. The OECD was asked to be Co-ordinator for “General Education Policy and System Change” within the Education and Youth Task Force, and to carry out “Thematic Reviews of Education Policy” in the countries of the region. The main outcome of this project is a series of reports which provide both country overviews and a regional overview. These reports offer an analysis of the education system and address issues and barriers to reform and recommendations. The recommendations are designed to be of use for national policy-makers and to assist Stability Pact partner countries and institutions target regional assistance in order to achieve the goal of supporting South Eastern Europe towards European integration. These reports are part of the OECD’s ongoing co-operation with non-member economies around the world.
competition, tax, trade policy, regulatory reform and human capital.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of Western Balkan economies but until recently received relatively little attention from policy makers. Governments focused on consolidating macroeconomic stabilisation and the restructuring and privatisation of large companies. The adoption in 2003 of the European Charter for Small Enterprises contributed to a change in policy perspective.
The SME Policy Index 2007 presents the first comprehensive and comparative assessment of progress made in implementing the Charter. The assessment is based on the SME Policy Index, an analytical tool designed by the OECD Investment Compact and the European Commission, and uses collaborative benchmarking to measure progress in the ten dimensions of the Charter:
• Education and training for entrepreneurship
• Cheaper and faster start-up
• Better legislation and regulation
• Availability of skills
• Improving online access for tax filing and company registration
• Getting more out of the single market
• Taxation and financial matters
• Strengthening the technological capacity of small enterprises
• Successful e-business models and top class business support
• Developing stronger, more effective representation of small enterprises
Governments of the region have already started to take action based on the results of the report through the creation in April 2007 of a South East European Investment Committee which aims to develop detailed guidelines on how to implement reforms in priority areas including the SME environment.
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and UNMIK/Kosovo are assessed in this report. A second SME Policy evaluation will be conducted and published in 2009.
Macedonia ratified CEDAW in 1991. The right to non-discrimination is upheld in the country’s Constitution and Macedonian law provides men and women with equal rights and freedoms. Recent amendments removed the last discriminatory provisions in the legislation, but social stereotypes still prevail, particularly in the media. Macedonian social institutions place women at a lower position than men in many areas of life, including within the family.
Using an innovative methodology, the Investment Reform Index 2010 (IRI 2010) monitors investment-related policy reforms in the economies of South-East Europe and compares these to best practices in the OECD area. Based on inputs from governments, the private sector, independent experts and multilateral organisations active in the region, the IRI 2010 assesses policies and institutional settings in eight fields of policy critical to domestic and foreign investors. These are: investment policy and promotion; human capital development; trade policy and facilitation; access to finance; regulatory reform and parliamentary processes; infrastructure for investment; tax policy analysis; and SME policy. For the economies examined, the IRI 2010 provides an independent and rigorous assessment of investment-related policy settings and reform against international good practice, guidance for policy reform and development and an evidence base with which to facilitate prioritisation of donor activities supporting investment and growth.
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia experienced average annual real GDP growth of 4.9% between 2005 and 2008. Growth has been driven by investment and private consumption. While inflation had remained below 4% since 2002, it increased rapidly in 2007-08 due to higher food and energy prices, reaching 8.3% in 2008 (IMF, 2009). However, inflation sharply decreased in 2009 (European Commission, 2009).
The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes is the multilateral framework within which work in the area of tax transparency and exchange of information is carried out by over 90 jurisdictions which participate in the work of the Global Forum on an equal footing.
The Global Forum is charged with in-depth monitoring and peer review of the implementation of the standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. These standards are primarily reflected in the 2002 OECD Model Agreement on Exchange of Information on Tax Matters and its commentary, and in Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital and its commentary as updated in 2004, which has been incorporated in the UN Model Tax Convention.
The standards provide for international exchange on request of foreseeably relevant information for the administration or enforcement of the domestic tax laws of a requesting party. “Fishing expeditions” are not authorised, but all foreseeably relevant information must be provided, including bank information and information held by fiduciaries, regardless of the existence of a domestic tax interest or the application of a dual criminality standard.
All members of the Global Forum, as well as jurisdictions identified by the Global Forum as relevant to its work, are being reviewed. This process is undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 reviews assess the quality of a jurisdiction’s legal and regulatory framework for the exchange of information, while Phase 2 reviews look at the practical implementation of that framework. Some Global Forum members are undergoing combined – Phase 1 plus Phase 2 – reviews. The ultimate goal is to help jurisdictions to effectively implement the international standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.
All review reports are published once approved by the Global Forum and they thus represent agreed Global Forum reports.