Sklep o potrditvi Memoranduma o mednarodnem razvojnem sodelovanju med Vlado Republike Slovenije in Vlado Republike Severne Makedonije za obdobje od 2020 do 2021

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia (hereinafter “the Parties”),

Based on the Agreement on Development Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, signed on 10 June 2004,

Have agreed on the following:

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has earmarked funds in the total amount of EUR 2,126,000 for bilateral development cooperation between the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of North Macedonia in the period 2020–2021 in the Budget of the Republic of Slovenia for 2020 and the Budget of the Republic of Slovenia for 2021.

1. The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has earmarked funds in the approximate amount of EUR 1,476,000 for the period 2020–2021 in support of development projects aimed at enhancing economic and social infrastructure in the Republic of North Macedonia.

2. When selecting projects, the Parties took into account the strategic priorities of the Republic of North Macedonia and the need for its further economic and social development, the promotion of balanced regional development and environmental protection.

3. In the period 2020–2021, the Parties plan to undertake the following projects in the field of economic and social infrastructure:

4. If any of the projects listed in paragraph 3 of this Article are not implemented and if conditions for including additional projects are met, the Parties agree to add these projects to the list, which shall be agreed upon by the Parties in an Annex to this Memorandum.

1. For projects aimed at enhancing economic and social infrastructure, the share of co-funding provided by the Republic of Slovenia shall generally not exceed 50 % of the total value. The remaining funds shall be provided by the relevant legal entity in the recipient country.

2. Any changes to the co-funding share must be authorised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia on a case-by-case basis.

3. The recipient country shall decide at its own discretion on how to complete the financial construction of a project.

The recipient country shall select a contractor in accordance with its national legislation governing public finances and public procurement. In specific cases, when the Republic of Slovenia provides the majority of co-funding, the Centre for International Cooperation and Development shall select, in agreement with the donation recipient, a contractor on the basis of a call for applications published in the Republic of Slovenia in accordance with the Slovenian legislation governing public finances and public procurement.

The Parties have agreed to provide funds in the approximate amount of EUR 540,000 for activities in the field of technical assistance.

Taking into account the active support of the Republic of Slovenia for the Republic of North Macedonia with regard to its integration into the European Union and adoption of EU standards and norms, the Republic of Slovenia will provide through its ministries, their agencies, government offices and the Centre for European Perspective, to the Republic of North Macedonia expert technical assistance in the amount of up to EUR 140,000 in the period 2020–2021. The technical assistance shall be provided upon request from the Secretariat for European Affairs.

In the period 2020–2021, the Republic of Slovenia shall provide to the Republic of North Macedonia the training of accountants in the public sector worth up to EUR 400,000 to be implemented by the international organisation, Center of Excellence in Finance.

1. The Parties shall promote development activities undertaken in the Republic of North Macedonia by Slovenian NGOs in partnership with their counterparts from the Republic of North Macedonia, and other forms of bilateral development cooperation, such as projects implemented at the regional level or for several partner countries simultaneously. Slovenia has earmarked funding for such projects in the amount of EUR 175,000 (of which EUR 110,000 in 2020–2021).

2. Furthermore, the Parties shall promote activities included in the Protocol between the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Macedonia on Cooperation in the Field of Education, which was signed in Ljubljana on 26 February 2016. According to the Protocol, citizens of the Republic of Slovenia and of the Republic of North Macedonia are entitled to receive education under the same conditions in either country, meaning that students from the two countries are exempt from paying the tuition fees charged to foreigners, i.e. that with regard to tuition fees for public higher education institutions their status is equal to that of domestic students.

Specific activities and details of their implementation shall be coordinated by the Joint Committee for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and the Secretariat for European Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia.

If any problems arise during the realisation of specific projects, the identification of additional development projects or other unforeseen developments in the Memorandum's implementation, the Parties may agree, via the Joint Committee or through other form of mutual communication, to amend the list of selected projects. Such arrangements relating to the modification of the list of selected projects shall be concluded in the form of an annex, which shall be an integral part of the Memorandum and shall enter into force in accordance with the provisions of Article 12 of the Memorandum.

Any dispute arising with respect to implementation of this Memorandum shall be settled amicably through consultations between the Parties.

The Memorandum shall be provisionally applied from the date of signature. The Memorandum shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following its signature, and shall remain in force until 31 December 2021. Any ongoing activities not finalised by 31 December 2021 shall be subject to the provisions of the Agreement on Development Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the Republic of Macedonia until their conclusion, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.

Done at Skopje on 11 February 2020 in two originals in the English language.

For the Government of the Republic of Slovenia  Milan Jazbec (s)

For the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia  Bujar Osmani (s)

Vlada Republike Slovenije in Vlada Republike Severne Makedonije (v nadaljnjem besedilu: pogodbenici) sta se

na podlagi Sporazuma med Vlado Republike Slovenije in Vlado Republike Makedonije o razvojnem sodelovanju, podpisanega 10. junija 2004,

dogovorili: