English
“360 Degrees” has published documents revealing how contracts were awarded and how celebrations were organized to mark the invitation to begin accession negotiations with NATO in 2018. The entire process unfolded over a span of just four days. The issue gained prominence as SDSM and affiliated media outlets started accusing the Government and the State Lottery over the organization of concerts to mark the 35th anniversary of Macedonia’s independence.
According to “360 Degrees”, approximately 15 million denars—or roughly 244,000 euros — were spent on the one-day activities held on July 14, 2018, in Skopje and 14 other cities. The findings reached by the “360 Degrees” team align with the publicly available minutes from the Government’s 78th session, held on July 10, 2018. Payments made to the agency “Artpick,” as well as to the companies “Duna” and “Password Production,” can also be verified via the Open Finance database, with the amounts matching the line items listed in the submitted expenditure records.
On July 10, 2018, the Government led by SDSM and DUI decided to organize a central celebration in Skopje, along with events in 14 other cities, to take place four days later. The decision was made ahead of the NATO summit on July 11 and 12, when Macedonia was expected to receive the invitation to begin the accession process. A committee comprising the national coordinator for culture and two advisors from the Prime Minister’s office was formed to handle the organization. Their task was to select the artists and hosts, prepare scripts, and coordinate the attendance of government delegations in the various cities.
The Government’s General Secretariat was tasked with conducting a procurement process to engage an agency for logistical organization, and the then-Secretary General, Dragi Raskovski, was required to sign the contract “as soon as possible” following the committee’s decision. The two procurement decisions provided are dated July 10, 2018 — the same day the government session took place.
One procurement concerned the rental and operation of audio and video equipment, with an estimated value of up to 70,000 euros (excluding VAT). The second was for event organization, with an estimated value of up to 40,000 euros (excluding VAT). The contract concluded with the company “Duna” indicates that the technical documentation for the procurement was prepared on July 10, while the bid was submitted on July 11.
The contract was signed on July 13, just one day before the celebrations took place. Its value was 4,923,850 denars including VAT—approximately 80,000 euros. The expenditure records also list an invoice from “Password Production” amounting to 2,541,425 denars—approximately 41,300 euros—for organizing the event. There is no contract with this company among the submitted documents.
Payments to both companies have been verified via the “Open Finances” platform, with the amounts matching those listed in the submitted documentation. The timeline, according to the documents, shows that key decisions, procurements, and contractual steps were executed within a span of just four days. The largest item in the expenditure records relates to the musicians and artists engaged for the events.
The table lists 46 items with a total value of 7,531,092 denars, or approximately 122,500 euros. Examples include 899,438 denars for an electronic musician and producer, 553,500 denars for a rock band frontman, and 207,563 denars for a saxophonist. A check of the Open Finance data reveals 45 transactions from the Government to “Artpick” that correspond to 45 items in the submitted table. Eight of these were executed on July 13, 2018, totaling 3,570,078 denars, while 37 transactions took place on August 1, totaling 3,916,014 denars.
The total value of these 45 transactions is 7,486,092 denars. The remaining item, amounting to 45,000 denars, cannot be definitively linked to a specific transaction because the database contains multiple payments of the same amount. “Open Finances” confirms the transfers to “Artpick” but does not identify the individual performers.
According to the submitted expenditure records, when the costs for performers, technical equipment, organization, and medical support are aggregated, the total cost of the celebrations on July 14, 2018, amounted to approximately 15 million denars—or roughly 244,000 euros.