Freedom House: Macedonia – a bright spot

Macedonia, Estonia and Uzbekistan are highlighted as the bright sports in the latest “Nations in Transit” report of independent watchdog organization Freedom House.

“The most promising chance for a democratic breakthrough in Europe today is in Macedonia. Although the country is small, the opportunity is big: Success in Macedonia would mean breaking up a decade of state capture and peacefully resolving bilateral disputes that have held back political and economic progress in the region. In Nations in Transit 2018, Macedonia recorded its first score improvements since 2010, ending seven straight years of decline,” reads the report.

According to Freedom House, the new government is strongly committed to breaking up the state capture that VMRO-DPMNE had accomplished.

“The first key to success for the SDSM-led coalition is to resolve the name dispute with Greece, which would unlock the path to EU and NATO membership and provide a tremendous international boost to the government. If the name dispute is resolved, then the hard work begins. Breaking down the VMRO-DPMNE’s many years of investment in patronage networks will be difficult for the new coalition—and doing so without engaging in abuses of its own will be even harder. At this moment, the new government deserves strong support from the United States and the EU, including pressure on Greece to resolve the name dispute and commitments to assist with the painful process of rolling back state capture,” reads the report.

The organization has noted the largest declines in Poland, Hungary and Serbia.