Yesterday, June 1, 2004, the Committee on Financial Issues, established in compliance with Annex C to the Agreement on Succession Issues of Former SFRY held a meeting in Zagreb, the Republic of Croatia.

The authorized representatives of the successor countries reached an agreement on the distribution of the monetary gold, weighting 8.5 tons, or in the amount of about US Dollar 107 million (according to the current prices of gold), by applying the percentages stated in the Agreement. After the completion of the procedures with the banks in which the gold is deposited (the Bank of France and Credit-Swiss Bank), 7.5% of the gold, or Denar 7.5 million shall be transferred to the account of the Republic of Macedonia.

In addition to the aforementioned, the representatives in the Committee on Financial Issues sent a letter to the Joint Committee, requesting from it to take an attitude on the further steps pertaining to the identification of the balance of the foreign assets of the NBY of the former SFRY, deposited in banks with mixed capital. The Financial Committee concluded that it is necessary to constitute a team of experts who should identify the balance of the deposits of the NBY of the former SFRY on the basis of the documentation with the National Bank of Serbia and the audit reports on the operations of the banks with mixed capital, as well as the point in time, the purposes and the persons in charge of ordering utilization of part of those deposits. All of this is needed because as of March 31, 2001, the bookkeeping value stated in the Agreement equals US Dollar 635 million, while in the Report of the NB of FRY only US Dollar 58 million are presented. Because the representative of Serbia and Montenegro did not accept the respective conclusion, a need for activating the Joint Committee aroused.

The effectiveness of the Agreement on the issues of succession creates formal and legal conditions for activating the Joint Committee are created, which is competent for resolving certain disputes related to its implementation.

The Agreement shall become effective on June 3, 2004, when the 30-day period since the Republic of Croatia deposited it in the UN expires, after it was previously ratified by the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia. According to the provisions of the Agreement, the Republic of Macedonia shall organize the first constitutive and working session of the Joint Committee.

The following session of the Committee on Financial Issues shall be held in Skopje, when  the distribution of the deposits of the NBY of SFRY, which are deposited on the accounts of commercial banks the main office of which is in Europe, and which amount to US Dollar 220 million, is completed. Total of 7.5%, or US Dollar 16.5 million of this amount account for the Republic of Macedonia. Furthermore, the division of the claims and the debts made after the agreements for clearing payment with certain East European countries and Asia (except with the former USSR, which is settled) shall be initiated at the meeting.

                                                                                                      Dusanka Hristova

                                                                                         Authorized representative

                                                                                        of the Republic of Macedonia in

                                                                                                 the Committee on

                                                                                           Financial Issues of Succession