The Platform of Civil Society Organizations for the Fight Against Corruption Reacts to the Lack of Transparency in the Negotiation Process of the Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Government of the United Kingdom Regarding the Partnership for the Implementation of Infrastructure Projects, Referred to by the Government as a “Government-to-Government Agreement.”
This is already the second agreement of this kind, and just like the one with the Republic of Hungary, it is being signed without the public being informed in advance and in a timely manner about the details and terms being accepted.
The Platform believes that just as full transparency is expected in the spending of funds from this credit framework, the Government should have ensured transparency in the negotiation process and the terms included in the agreement it adopted at its session on May 20, 2025, and signed on May 22 in London.
Therefore, the Platform calls on the Government to publish the details of such agreements publicly before they are signed, and not after the agreements are concluded and their terms already accepted. In fact, the Public Debt Management Strategy 2025–2027 clearly states that one of the guiding principles in debt management is “ensuring transparency in the debt creation process.”
Strategic partnership agreements with friendly countries, such as the United Kingdom, must not be used to conduct secret negotiations and incur debt on behalf of the citizens under conditions they were not informed about beforehand and without having the necessary information to trust that the best choice was made on their behalf.
