Today, the Constitutive Session of the Working Group for the Establishment of a Model for a National Mechanism for Screening Foreign Direct Investments was held at the Ministry of European Affairs, which was also addressed by the Minister of European Affairs, Orhan Murtezani. Minister Murtezani was authorized by the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia to establish the Working Group, whose proposal for the composition of the members was adopted at the last session of the Government.
Murtezani, in front of the members of the Working Group, emphasized that the establishment of a national mechanism for screening foreign direct investments is particularly important for North Macedonia, not only as a confirmation that national policies follow the trends and policies of our strategic partners the EU and the USA, but also as a confirmation that the state has the capacity to establish a legal and institutional framework for dealing with potential risks to security and public order and peace, related to foreign direct investments.
The Working Group is composed of the President Dragan Tilev, who comes from the Ministry of European Affairs, the Deputy President, 13 members and their deputies. The task of the Working Group is to develop and propose a legal solution for the establishment of a functional national system for the screening of foreign direct investments, which will be compatible with the national systems for the screening of foreign direct investments of the Member States of the European Union and in correlation with the EU Regulation on a mechanism for the coordination of the screening of foreign direct investments (FDI 2019/452).
The following is the integral address of MEP Murtezani:
Dear members of the working group for the establishment of a model for a national mechanism for the screening of foreign direct investments, which ensures continuity of the work done so far, under the coordination of the Ministry of European Affairs.
The establishment of a national mechanism for the screening of foreign direct investments is particularly important for North Macedonia, not only as a confirmation that national policies follow the trends and policies of our strategic partners the EU and the USA, but also as a confirmation that the state has the capacity to establish a legal and institutional framework for dealing with potential risks to security and public order, related to foreign direct investments.
As a country that started accession negotiations in July 2022, at the bilateral screening for Chapter 30 External Relations (part of Cluster 6), we have already undertaken a commitment to define a national system and legal solution for screening foreign direct investments, which will be built in an inclusive manner with all stakeholders and the international community. This is also noted in the Screening Report for Cluster 6, where the Commission notes that it plans to adopt legislation by the end of 2025 and have a functional system in 2026.
The commitment is also linked to the efforts within the framework of the Berlin Process, as the last Summit adopted a document on regional criteria for the introduction of a national mechanism for screening foreign direct investments. Finally, the mechanism for screening foreign direct investments is an integral part of the Strategic Dialogue between North Macedonia and the United States.
EU regulation is complex and its importance is continuously increasing in a world that is constantly changing and polarizing. Foreign investments should be screened for corrosive capital – financing that has political influence rather than economic benefit. Such capital most often originates from authoritarian regimes and exploits institutional weaknesses to influence economic, political and social developments in the country.
Therefore, this Working Group has an important task ahead of it, which is to develop and propose a legal solution for the establishment of a functional national system for the screening of foreign direct investments, which will be compatible with the national systems for the screening of foreign investments of the Member States of the European Union and in correlation with the EU Regulation on a mechanism for the coordination of the screening of Foreign Direct Investments - FDI 2019/452 (Article 3 of the Decision).
However, it is good that you are not starting from scratch, because during 2022/2023, comprehensive assessments and analyses were made to establish a national legal institutional framework as a basis for your work, and the proposal is for the mechanism to have two levels – the first level is a national FDI screening mechanism, while the second level is the ability of our mechanism to coordinate with all EU members and the European Commission.
The implementation of this regulation will mean that North Macedonia will adapt to all measures and sanctions of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, and as a member of NATO, will follow the sanctions imposed by the US Committee on Foreign Investment and by other NATO partners, including the United Kingdom, and this means that we will “close” our territorial space to harmful
