Within the scope of the Joint Project “Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and the Media in South-East Europe (JUFREX),” co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, a Study on the media regulatory framework and the online media has been prepared for the needs of the Macedonian media regulatory authority, the Agency for audio and audio-visual media services.

The Study was commissioned by the Council of Europe and drafted by an international expert, Mr Jean –Francois Furnémont, an independent consultant with experience as Director General of a media regulatory authority in Belgium and a Chairperson of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA).

The aim of the Study was to provide support to the Macedonian media regulatory authority as well as the interested relevant and general public, as regards potential regulation of online media in the country. It contains two main chapters, namely a European benchmark for regulation of online media representing a comparative analysis of the European legislation (including standards of the European Union and the Council of Europe) and Recommendations as regards the topic tailored to the Macedonian case.

A general conclusion in the Study is the need to keep freedom of media as the main public policy objective and therefore to avoid content regulation and support self-regulation.

The views expressed therein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.

Link to the study: Media regulatory framework and the online media – the Macedonian case