Macedonia unveils 330-million-euro crisis bailout package

(SKOPJE) - Macedonia on Thursday unveiled a series of measures worth 330 million euros (425 million dollars) in a bid to cope with the economic fallout from the global financial crisis.

"Macedonia is not in recession but our trade partners worldwide are so these measures are preventative ones for our economy," Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski told reporters.

The measures included steps to ease the burden of the crisis on local companies, as well as cuts to taxes and customs charges for importing raw materials, Gruevski said.

"We believe this will improve the liquidity of companies," Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Stavrevski said.

Macedonia's banking sector has come through the crisis relatively unscathed so far but its broader economy could start to feel its effects soon, Gruevski warned.

The country's steel and textile sectors were among first to be hit by the crisis, with some 2,000 and 4,000 workers respectively idled on forced leave until the year's end, the premier said.

Macedonia expects gross domestic product growth of 5.0 percent in 2009 after 5.9 percent in 2007, the best result in the former Yugoslav republic for 20 years, he said.