The third Steering Committee meeting under the joint European Union and Council of Europe action “Protecting Freedom of Expression and of the Media in North Macedonia” (PRO-FREX) took place in Skopje, reaffirming the commitment to safeguarding freedom of expression and media freedom in North Macedonia in line with European standards.
The event gathered key institutional stakeholders and civil society representatives, including the Association of Journalists of Macedonia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors, the Bar Association, the Media Regulator, and authorities responsible for access to information and data protection, as well as EU and Council of Europe representatives. Their participation highlighted a shared commitment to reinforcing the safety of journalists, countering SLAPPs, and advancing media freedom as a core democratic value. During the meeting, key achievements of the action were presented and discussed with the main beneficiaries and partners, including the upcoming activities for 2025.
A major milestone during the last year was the ratification of the Tromsø Convention, a process supported by PRO-FREX North Macedinia. Additionally the action is assisting the efforts to amend the Law on Free Access to Public Information, to fully comply with the with the Tromsø Convention.
In 2025, the action will focus on strengthening the capacities of key institutional and legal stakeholders, which will further enhance journalist safety through better protection mechanisms, counter the use of SLAPPs by aligning with the Council of Europe and EU anti-SLAPP standards, and supporting the Council of Europe’s “Journalists Matter” campaign to ensure a co-ordinated approach to journalist protection.
As North Macedonia’s EU accession process advances, the Steering Committee reaffirmed the importance of aligning domestic legal frameworks with European human rights and media freedom standards, particularly the Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This will foster an improved environment for exercising freedom of speech by journalists and media actors, promoting a more pluralistic and safer media environment.
The action “Protecting Freedom of Expression and of the Media in North Macedonia”(PRO-FREX), implemented by the Division for Co-operation on Freedom of Expression, is part of the joint European Union and the Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye 2023-2026”.
