Whistleblowers play a critical role in uncovering corruption and other illegal activities within organisations and the public sector. However, they often face retaliation and harassment, which can discourage others from coming forward. Strong whistleblower protection laws are therefore essential to encourage individuals to report wrongdoing and hold those responsible accountable.

In this regard, the Council of Europe Economic Crime and Cooperation Division is currently supporting the North Macedonian authorities with reforming the whistleblower protection framework, with the aim of ensuring that the domestic legislation provides for sufficient safeguards, reporting channels and other elements for an effective whistleblower protection mechanism.

Most notably, in 2023 the Action against Economic Crime in North Macedonia supported a multi-stakeholder working group with developing necessary amendments to the existing legal framework. A series of workshops, including a most recent one held on 18 December 2023, gathered representatives of civil society organisations, private sector, and state institutions and provided an opportunity to discuss the results of the legislative review conducted by the Council of Europe, as well as the proposed amendments aimed at upgrading the legislative framework in line with the Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2014)7 on the protection of whistleblowers and the EU Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law.

North Macedonian authorities have published the draft law on the ENER platform for public opinion and public consultations are currently ongoing. Once adopted, the new legislative framework is expected to establish effective safeguards for individuals exposing corruption and other harm to the public interest, both in the public and private sectors.

This activity was organised by Action against economic crime in North Macedonia, within the framework of the European Union/Council of Europe Joint Programme Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye (Horizontal Facility III), co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.