Launch of the Roadmap towards Circular Economy of North Macedonia

‌On 26 March 2024, the OECD South East Europe Regional Programme successfully launched A Roadmap towards Circular Economy of North Macedonia in Skopje. The roadmap aims to assist the government of North Macedonia in establishing a robust policy framework for a successfull transition to a circular economy. The high-level event gathered over 80 participants, policy makers and practitioners – key circular economy stakeholders – marking an important milestone in the country’s circular economy transition.

The event was opened by Ms. Marzena Kisielewska, Head of the OECD South East Europe Division; Ms. Razmena Cekic Durovic, State Secretary, Ministry of Economy of North Macedonia; and Mr. Steffen Hudolin, Head of Cooperation, Delegation of the European Union to North Macedonia. The opening remarks underscored the significance of the Circular Economy Roadmap in shaping a greener and more sustainable future of North Macedonia.

The OECD presented the main tenets of the Roadmap, focusing on its diagnostics and five priority areas key for North Macedonia’s circular economy, along with their related policy recommendations:

• Circular business models for SMEs
• Construction
• Biomass and food
• Textile industry
• Mining and metallurgy

A panel discussion titled “From design to implementation” followed the OECD presentation and aimed at highlighting essential success factors and pitfalls to avoid in implementing circular economy. The discussion drew insight from the circular journeys of peer economies – Serbia and Slovenia.