Flagship project
From Policy Dialogue to EU Funds: Strengthening North Macedonia's EU Accession (SUPRAE)
Supported North Macedonia’s EU accession by strengthening national capacity to deliver structural reforms, aligning the country’s horizontal systems and standards with those of the EU, and helping ensure that invested EU funds create value for the country and improve everyday life for its people.
The challenge
Progress on EU accession requires more than technical alignment: it depends on sustained, coherent policy dialogue between institutions, donors and civil society; on national capacities strong enough to manage the full cycle of EU funds, from programming to audit; and on communication that keeps citizens informed and engaged. Before SUPRAE, North Macedonia's institutions faced gaps in each of these areas, alongside the wider challenge of preparing negotiation structures able to lead a demanding, multi-year accession process. SUPRAE was designed to close these gaps by embedding technical expertise directly within national institutions and pairing it with structured, ongoing capacity building, rather than one-off advice, so that institutions build lasting capacity while keeping pace with the demands of the accession process.
Our goal
Support the EU accession of North Macedonia. The project pursues this through three specific objectives: - strengthening strategic planning, reporting and communication; - putting in place the technical accession framework needed for negotiations; - and improving the programming, use and assessment of EU funds by national authorities. Together, these objectives help national institutions build the capacities, structures and systems required to progress steadily and credibly through the EU accession process.
Our approach
SUPRAE combines expert advisory support with structured capacity building, guided by four principles: - rapid mobilisation of specialised expertise, - flexibility to respond to ad-hoc requests through a dedicated helpdesk mechanism, - coherent and sequenced planning across components, - and a participatory approach built on Sector Working Groups and Project Steering Committee meetings. Under each component, the project supports policy dialogue and the strategic planning framework, including the Performance Assessment Framework; strengthens the institutional and administrative capacity of negotiation structures ahead of EU accession negotiations; helps national authorities manage and programme EU funds in line with IPA III requirements; and delivers a unified communication strategy addressing transparency, public understanding of the accession process, and the visibility of EU-funded investments.
Impact in numbers
A Government decision created the formal basis for renewed coordination on the National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis, and legislative alignment support continued across several sectors. On awareness raising, SUPRAE supported the Ministry for European Affairs in finalising and securing Ministerial sign-off of the Strategic Communication Framework, and produced two Communication and Visibility Plans and three editions of the SUPRAE Newsletter.
Key highlights
- Sector policy reforms: strategic planning processes, coordination of Sector Working Groups, regular update of the Performance Assessment Framework and targeted training for public administration staff
- EU accession process: alignment of national legislation with the EU acquis, assistance to institutions preparing for accession negotiations and stronger coordination structures such as the National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis
- Management of EU funds: support for IPA III programming, including Action Fiches and Operation Identification Sheets for the multiannual IPA 2025 to 2027 Operational Programmes
- Stronger financial management and control systems, and capacity building of Managing Authorities and other IPA structures through Self-Assessment Reports, monitoring tools and Key Performance Indicators
- Awareness raising: strategic communication planning for EU assistance, Communication and Visibility Plans for EU-funded programmes and the SUPRAE Newsletter
Voices from the field
In this context, SUPRAE continues to serve as a practical mechanism that helps institutions translate EU requirements into day-to-day systems.
The European Union remains committed to supporting North Macedonia on its path towards EU membership, working together with national institutions to translate reform priorities into sustainable results.
The Support for Policy Reforms, Accession and Effectiveness (SUPRAE) Project stands as a testament to this shared vision. Through its practical support, collaborative spirit and forward-looking approach, SUPRAE helps transform ambition into action, aligning policies with European standards, building institutional capacity and fostering greater understanding of the EU integration process across our society.
Success story
From advice to action: North Macedonia's railway reform
Public Enterprise Railways Operations (PERO) and Public Enterprise Railways Infrastructure (PERI) faced longstanding operational and structural challenges linked to persistent losses and inefficiencies. Under the national Reform Agenda, SUPRAE experts worked directly with the two state-owned enterprises on restructuring measures, including track access charges, cost allocation methodologies and institutional capacity building, providing strategic guidance on priority reform steps.
In December 2025, the improved Action Plans, developed in line with expert recommendations, were formally adopted by the Government of North Macedonia, moving the reform from analysis and planning to formal adoption and accountability. In 2026, the European Commission confirmed the milestone as achieved, contributing to the release of EUR 65.7 million under the EU Reform and Growth Facility, part of a cumulative EUR 142 million disbursed to North Macedonia under this instrument.
Beyond the funding released, the reform strengthens the sustainability and governance of a sector central to North Macedonia's transport connectivity and its alignment with EU standards, illustrating how technical assistance can translate into concrete, government-owned results with tangible benefits for the country's EU accession path.
Impressions
