SKOPJE – North Macedonia decided to temporarily suspend the payment of funds from the European Union’s Instrument for Pre-Accession in Rural Development (IPARD) programme following the arrest of the head of the Agency for Financial Support of Agriculture and Rural Development in a bribery case, MIA agency reported.
Gazeta Express reports that the Director of the State Agency for Payments of National and Community Aid for Rural Development, Ilia Stoilev, was arrested on charges of bribery in order to illegally approve financing for an agricultural enterprise in the country.
“Stoilev, who comes from the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party, is suspected of having agreed with a former minister of the country to receive the sum of 50,000 euros. In total, there are 4 people suspected of these abuses of EU funds, who have been sentenced to 30 days in pre-trial detention, while several others are under ‘house arrest’”, Gazeta Express reported.
The Ministry of Finance of North Macedonia stated that “this decision was prompted following recent developments within the Agency for Financial Support of Agriculture and Rural Development”.
“The European Commission and the relevant services in Brussels were informed of this decision on the same day, and they acknowledged and welcomed the initiative of the national authorities. Adopting such a decision underscores the reliability of the established system in guaranteeing the legality and regularity of IPARD payments, while ensuring that effective measures are in place to prevent fraud and corruption”, the press release notes.
The Ministry stressed that “the national structures tasked with managing funds from the IPA/IPARD instrument are already undertaking additional measures and activities related to current developments”.
“Since 2009, the Republic of North Macedonia has been granted the right by the European Commission for decentralised management of funds from the IPA/IPARD instrument”, the press release says.
The opposition SDSM party has called for the dismissal of the Minister of Agriculture.
“When people close to your cabinet are included in the investigation and detained, the question arises whether the current minister can influence the investigation. At the very least, in order to strengthen public trust in politicians, he should resign”, former Minister Trajan Dimovski stated.
