The EU Twinning light project lasted for eight months with a budget of 250,000.00 Euros and it was implemented by the Ministry of Interior, the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Deutsche Bundesbank. The project's implementation was supported by experts from Hrvatska narodna banka, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank and the European Central Bank.

The overall objective of this Twinning Light project was to support the establishment of a sound and efficient system for the protection of the EU and national financial interest and an effective counterfeit surveillance. The project covered an analysis of the functioning of the system of fight against counterfeiting of banknotes and coins, the identification of bottlenecks and recommendations for improvement. The project contributed to strengthening the cooperation with all relevant domestic and foreign institutions involved in the system for fight against the counterfeiting of money.

The project's results are:

• Further improvement and harmonisation of the legal framework and methodology of the system for the fight against counterfeiting of EUR.
• Development of administrative capacity of the institutions involved in fight against counterfeiting of EUR.
• Further improvement and integration of the database and IT system used for the fight against counterfeiting of EUR.

At the closing-conference ceremony Mr Veton Kranlievski, State Advisor in the Cabinet of the Minister of Interior Affairs, Ms Sonja Kanevche, Head of the Banknotes Department, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia and Mr Freek Janmaat, Head of Section, Economic Issues, Institution Building and Cross Border Cooperation, EU Delegation addressed the participants. The Beneficiary Country Project Leader, Ms Biljana Celeska-Anevska, and the Member State Project Leader, Mr Peter Spicka, presented the project’s achieved objectives, activities and results.

At the closing-conference ceremony an educational and informative video was promoted showing the security features of the banknotes which the citizens need to be familiar with. The video has been published on the website of the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia

Text: Peter Spicka