Macedonian municipalities show interest in joining the BFC SEE Program

On the 7th of June 2024., ZELS organized a training for representatives of municipalities and cities with a favorable business environment from the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia, according to the latest, IV edition of the international BFC SEE standard.

The municipalities and cities that were present at the training are Skopje, Gazi Baba, Kocani and Centar.

Certification of business-friendly municipalities and cities in Southeast Europe (BFC SEE) is a unique program for evaluating and improving the conditions for business and investment at the local level. The certification program provides municipalities and cities with a reform plan and clear guidelines on how to create a good business environment and introduce internationally recognized standards of efficient and transparent local administration.

At the beginning of the training, head of the unit for BFC SEE in NALED, Marko Marić, spoke about the program for implementing the certification process and the role of local self-government in it.

Jovica Damnjanović, an expert consultant on the BFC SEE Program, spoke about the processes and criteria of certification, and presented the training participants with the most common challenges in that process, as well as novelties regarding the methodology that municipalities expect within the new certification cycle, with an emphasis on new topics in the process of certification: green economy and digitalization.