September 11 (SeeNews) - North Macedonia's complex regulatory environment and frequent regulatory and legislative changes, as well as inconsistent interpretation of the rules, create an unpredictable business environment conducive to corruption for foreign investors, the U.S. State Department said.
The government generally enforces laws, but there are numerous reports that some officials remain engaged in corrupt activities, the State Department said in its annual Investment Climate Statements for 2020 earlier this week.
"Some NGOs assess the VMRO-DMPNE-led government’s dominant role in the economy created opportunities for corruption, while the SDSM-led government, which took office in 2017 and pledged to enhance transparency and rule of law, managed to transfer some power from political parties to judicial institutions," the report reads.
However, North Macedonia's legal framework for foreign investors is largely in line with international standards and foreign investors are generally treated the same as domestic investors under similar circumstances, according to the State Department.
The State Department also said it expects the social and economic crisis caused by COVID-19 to have deep impacts on North Macedonia’s economy and ability to absorb foreign investments through 2020 and beyond.
Transparency International’s 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked North Macedonia 106th of 180 countries, a drop of 13 places from 2018.