The Parliamentary Budget Office in North Macedonia established with the support of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy by the end of 2019 organised its first presentation to the members of parliament. The PBO presented its work and their first analysis оn the latest macroeconomic indicators to the newly established Parliament in the country. The presentation was part of the parliamentary orientation session for new MPs, which was attended by 75 newly elected MPs. North Macedonia’s parliament was constituted in August 2020, following the July parliamentary elections in the country. The session serves to inform new MPs on their role and the functioning of Parliament.  

The PBO Head of Unit Julijana Krstevska – Petrusevska, presented PBO’s responsibility in supporting the legislative and oversight role of Parliament through objective analysis available to the legislative branch. The presentation pointed out the analyses that this office will provide on a regular basis to the MPs, as well as the educational sessions for the MPs in the field of fiscal policy and financial oversight.

In the past period, the PBO members have been actively working on capacity building in the field of fiscal and monetary policy as well as on the model of developing public policies and the functioning of the system of administration and Parliament. As a result of this engagement, the office prepared several pilot products, and the first of them was presented at this session. The analysis covers the latest trends in macroeconomic variables, which shows that due to the global health crisis and prevention measures, the GDP projections for 2020 take a downward direction compared to previous pre-COVID positive scenarios for the movements in domestic economy. The findings from the first two quarters show that the health and economic crisis is followed with a rise in unemployment.

The document on the macroeconomic indicators can be found in Macedonian and in Albanian language.

This and future data serve to inform MPs about the fiscal trends and provide information that will support them in their oversight role. The current parliamentary mandate will be the first that will be able to benefit from the PBO’s work since its establishment. The PBO was founded in September 2019 as an organisational unit within the Service of the Parliament of the Republic of North Macedonia. The office is an analytical centre that supports the parliamentary oversight through preparation of expert financial and budgetary analysis for the MPs, working bodies and parliamentary services.

The financial analyses prepared by the PBO include informative materials, briefings and briefs on the budget, re-balance, end of year accounts of the state budget, the annual and other reports by the State Audit Office and other independent bodies established by the Parliament. The PBO can prepare analyses in the areas of fiscal and monetary politics, costing of policy proposals and cost-benefit analyses on legislation proposed by MPs.

More details about the role and work of the PBO can be found in its portfolio available in Macedonian and Albanian language.

The new analysis on the impact of COVID-19 crisis on the economy of North Macedonia can be found here in Macedonian and Albanian language.