North Macedonia – along with other Western Balkans partners – was identified as a potential candidate for EU membership during the Thessaloniki European Council summit in 2003. Its Stabilisation and Association Agreement, the first in the region, is in force since 2004. It applied for EU membership in March 2004 and the Council decided in December 2005 to grant the country candidate status.

The European Commission conducts regular analysis on macroeconomic and financial developments in North Macedonia. The country also benefits from an EU macro-financial assistance programme.

The Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) is the means by which the EU has been supporting reforms in the enlargement region with financial and technical assistance since 2007. IPA funds build up the capacities of the beneficiaries throughout the accession process, resulting in progressive, positive developments in the region.

Eurydice is a network whose task is to explain how education systems are organised in Europe and how they work. We publish descriptions of national education systems, comparative studies devoted to specific topics, indicators and statistics in the field of education.

Access to the European Commission Country Knowledge Portal is restricted.

Information about relations between the EU and the country: political, economic and trade relations, civil society dialogue, and assistance.

North Macedonia applied for EU membership in March 2004 and was granted EU candidate status in December 2005. The EU held its first intergovernmental conference with North Macedonia in July 2022.

The European Union has developed a policy to support the gradual integration of the Western Balkan countries with the EU. On 1 July 2013, Croatia became the first of the seven countries to join, and Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia have candidate country status. Accession negotiations and chapters have been opened with Montenegro and Serbia, negotiations were opened with Albania and North Macedonia in July 2022 and with Bosnia and Herzegovina in March 2024, and Kosovo submitted its application for EU membership in December 2022.

The EESC is a consultative body that gives representatives of Europe's socio-occupational interest groups and others a formal platform to express their points of view on EU issues. Its opinions are addressed to the Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament.

On this page you find all EEA content that is exclusively about North Macedonia.

EIGE has been working with North Macedonia to build their capacity in gender equality since 2013. North Macedonia launched its first Gender Equality Index in 2020. EIGE collects data on women and men in decision-making positions in North Macedonia since 2011.

Eurojust and North Macedonia, then the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, signed a Cooperation Agreement in November 2008, with the first Liaison Prosecutor Lenche Ristoska taking up her duties in November 2018.

Eurofound provides research, data and analysis on a wide range of social and work-related topics. This information is largely comparative, but also offers country-specific information for each of the EU Member States. This page contains information, research and data for North Macedonia