maja kadievska - vojnovik : prospects of the macedonian economy in 2015 address by ms maja kadievska - vojnovik, vice - governor of the national bank of the republic of macedonia, at the panel discussion on the “ prospects of the macedonian economy in 2015 ”, organized by “ finance think ”, skopje, 22 december 2014. * * * many thanks to ana mitreska, manager of the monetary policy and research department, who participated in the preparation for the panel discussion on the “ prospects of the macedonian economy in 2015 ”. macedonian economy is small and open, as evident from the high and growing share of exports and imports in gdp ( in the last four years the openness increased by almost 20 percentage points, reaching high 105 % of gdp in 2013 ). given this feature, it is undoubtedly exposed to global developments, especially developments in europe, which is our key trading partner to which we export over 70 % of the macedonian products. economies of this kind, by definition, are economies that absorb the shocks from external environment, with relatively limited opportunities for influence. in fact, the decrease of economic activity in 2009 and in 2012 ( about 0. 5 % in both years ) showed that the real sector of the economy cannot remain immune to the adverse demand shocks arising from europe. also, an important structural feature of our economy is its high import dependence of the export sector and its high energy dependence. however, the adverse second - round effects felt in the macedonian economy were far weaker than those registered in the other countries in the region, although the macedonian economy is more open than the other economies in south east europe ( with the exception of bulgaria ). the average decrease in gdp in see countries was nearly 2 %. at the same time, the pace of economic recovery in the post - crisis period is faster than the average for the region. thus, in the period 2010 – 2013, the cumulative increase in the economic activity is close to 8 percentage points, which is nearly 3 percentage points more compared to the average cumulative growth for the region. in fact, macedonia is one of the few countries in the see region, which has already exceeded the pre - crisis maximum economic activity. therefore, quite logical is the question : what are the factors that provided a relatively good response to the crisis and a relatively solid economic recovery of the domestic economy, amid an anemic global setting? and more importantly, whether these factors will continue to be the engine of

anita angelovska bezhoska : the denar was and remains one of the key pillars of the stability of the macedonian economy address by ms anita angelovska bezhoska, governor of the national bank of the republic of north macedonia, on the 29th anniversary of the monetary independence, skopje, 26 april 2021. * * * monetary sovereignty is one of the main components of the sovereignty of any state. today we mark 29 years since the laying of the foundations of our monetary independence – the day when the denar replaced the yugoslav dinar, and the national bank began to function as an independent central bank, facing numerous challenges in those turbulent times of separation from the former yugoslav state. looking back through years, we can freely say that the monetary independence took place in an extremely difficult period marked with high macroeconomic instability as its main feature. frequent exchange rate devaluations, when there were almost no foreign reserves, along with structural problems, ignited inflation, which reached four - digit levels, and all this had strong effects on the economy and the living standards of citizens. the economy has been declining 1996, when economic growth of 1. 2 % was registered for the first time since independence. hence, no doubt that establishing a stable macroeconomic environment required great courage, commitment and professionalism of the national bank team. the efforts of the national bank, together with other policy makers and the academic community, have played a key role in ceasing the inflation spiral and stabilizing the exchange rate of the domestic currency. in 1995, the monetary strategy of stable exchange rate of the denar was formalized – a strategy for which then and now there is a broad consensus that it is one of the key pillars of the stability of the macedonian economy. the benefits of macroeconomic stability have been enjoyed for 24 years. our economy is small, commercial and financially open and hence, prone to external shocks. despite the numerous external and internal shocks, the national bank constantly succeeds to keep inflation at a moderate level, which is similar to the european level. low inflation is extremely important for the protection of the real purchasing power of citizens, but also for maintaining the competitiveness of our exports without which small economies like ours can not achieve higher and sustainable growth. the maintenance of low and stable inflation, as the main goal of the central bank, is underpinned by the stable exchange rate of the domestic currency against the euro. the prudent monetary policy, as well as the good coordination