Winter 2017 / Issue 52
In short , we lack a long-term , holistic strategy for consumer rights protection that includes , for example , the definition of vulnerable consumers and measures to ensure their protection and prevention of discrimination against them .
Finally , perhaps the most important challenge is to establish a dedicated Agency for the Protection of Consumers with adequate human and financial resources to coordinate all activities required to implement efficient and effective consumer protection in the country .
AM : What can you tell our readers about Macedonia ’ s Unfair Competition Law ? Adopted back in 1999 , it seems to overlap heavily with the Law on Consumer Protection and a number of other laws . Do you believe it should be repealed ?
JDA : These laws are not contradictory , but of course they need updating . We need to enhance and to implement European solutions and do a lot more in terms of law enforcement . The fact that this law hasn ’ t been touched in 17 years , there are no data on how it ’ s been applied and it was meant to address dynamic areas like e-advertising , all suggest the need for legislative and enforcement action .
AM : Do you believe there is a need for greater protection of companies from abusive consumers ?
JDA : In Macedonia , we can ’ t talk about aggressive consumers who abuse their rights , since we have such low public awareness . For example , I ’ ve run across educated jurists who don ’ t think consumers should be allowed to return rotten milk ! In our country , there are no examples of aggressive consumers joining forces to damage companies . In our markets , despite the work of market inspectors , there are still expired products for sale , expensive products with excessive packaging to increase their weight , irregularities in the way prices are presented , clauses in contracts for financial services that are dishonest , and so on .
AM : What is your opinion of the Ministry of Economy ’ s Consumer Protection Program for 2017 – 2018 ? Will it be sufficient to make some progress in this area ?
JDA : The Program is aimed at raising awareness and educating consumers but the allotted budget for it totals MKD 550.000 per year (< 9.000 EUR ). This shows the government ’ s attitude towards this complex issue . Nothing concrete is mentioned for the biggest challenges : A new law , establishing a long-term strategy , establishing an Agency , providing a consumer magazine including objective product comparisons , protecting vulnerable consumer groups .
The program is realistic given its budget , but inadequate to achieve a high level of protection of users and alignment with international standards for consumer protection , present in EU countries .
FDI Themes Covered by National Media in 2016
Critical / Negative coverage
Future investments planned / considered /
construction begun 30
25 20 15 10 5 0
Updates on existing investments
Other neutral / positive coverage
Announcements of expansion of existing investments
Operations launches
AmCham Macedonia analysis of SKOPJE ECONOMY ® clipping service by Skopje Diem ; January - December 2016 .”
AMCHAM MAGAZINE 11