On 13 October 2020, the Government of North Macedonia announced its intention to amend the Law of Postal Services (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia no. 158/2010, as amended), which would allow for the Post Office of North Macedonia, the national postal service of the country, to be privatised.
A feasibility study is set to be initiated to assess the opportunities for privatisation, or acquisition via a public – private partnership.
The Post Office of North Macedonia currently has a monopoly position on the postal services market for correspondence shipments and shipments of direct mail up to 50 grams. The liberalization of the postal market has been a hot topic for many years, with the European Commission recommending having it liberalised until the beginning of 2020. With these proposed amendments, the process for liberalisation of the postal services in North Macedonia in line with EU regulations is expected to resume.
Recently, the Post Office of North Macedonia lost the ability to perform payment operations, due to the bankruptcy of Eurostandard Bank. Currently, there are ongoing negotiations with several banks to conclude an agreement for the takeover of the payment operations in the post office units.
