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North Macedonia establishes National Committee for the Protection and Safety of Journalists

The National Committee for the Protection and Safety of Journalists has been established in North Macedonia, marking an important step towards creating a safer and more enabling environment for journalists and media professionals in the country.

The Committee will serve as a national mechanism to strengthen institutional co-operation, address threats and challenges faced by journalists, and co-ordinate measures to improve their safety. It will bring together representatives of relevant public institutions, including the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, alongside representatives of the media community, to promote a comprehensive and sustainable approach to the protection and safety of journalists.

The establishment of the Committee builds on ongoing dialogue and co-operation among public authorities, journalists' associations, media representatives and other relevant stakeholders, supported by the Council of Europe through its continued engagement in strengthening journalists' safety in North Macedonia.

Through the European Union and Council of Europe joint action Protecting Freedom of Expression and of the Media in North Macedonia (PRO-FREX) and the Council of Europe's Journalists Matter Campaign, technical expertise, policy guidance and support for institutional dialogue and stakeholder consultations have been provided. These efforts have contributed to strengthening co-operation among relevant institutions and media stakeholders, facilitating the establishment of the Committee and supporting the ongoing preparation of the National Action Plan for the Protection and Safety of Journalists (2027–2030).

The Committee will play an important role in advancing the Plan by identifying priorities and supporting co-ordinated implementation, monitoring and follow-up measures, in line with Council of Europe standards, particularly Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)4 on the protection of journalism and safety of journalists and other media actors.

The development of the Committee provides an opportunity to translate European and Council of Europe standards into practical measures, strengthen institutional responses to threats against journalists and contribute to a safer media environment, while safeguarding the public's right to information.

This initiative is implemented by the Division for Cooperation on Freedom of Expression within the framework of the action “Protecting Freedom of Expression and of the Media in North Macedonia”, under the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”. The activity also contributes to the objectives of the Council of Europe “Journalists Matter” Campaign for the Safety of Journalists.

Skopje, North Macedonia 27 October 2026
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The action ‘Protecting freedom of expression and of the media in North Macedonia’ (PRO-FREX) enables the beneficiary institutions and civil society organisations in North Macedonia to progress towards meeting their reform agendas in the field of freedom of expression and freedom of media, in line with the European standards.

The action is implemented within the joint programme of the European Union and Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye running from 2023 to 2026 and aims to contribute to an improved environment for the exercise, in particular by journalists and media actors, of their rights of freedom of expression, in a more pluralistic and safer media environment, in line with the standards as set by Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

What are the goals and objectives of the action?

  • to promote freedom of expression and freedom of the media and to improve the application of European standards in the field.
  • to enhance the protection of journalists and contribute to the creation of an enabling, safer and more pluralistic media environment.
  • to strengthen the skills and knowledge of the actors who are responsible for applying the standards on freedom of expression as part of their daily work.

Who benefits from the action?

  • independent state bodies in the field of media regulation (the Agency for Audio and Audio-visual Media Services) and access to information and protection of information (the Agency for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information and the Personal Data Protection Agency).

  • associations of journalists and media actors in North Macedonia.

  • professionals such as judges, prosecutors, police officers, lawyers, broadcasters, journalists, other media actors.
  • the people of North Macedonia.

How does the action work?

  • by providing legal advice to improve the alignment of legal and regulatory frameworks to the relevant European standards;
  • by providing research and policy support to institutions and civil society organisations in the field;
  • by raising awareness among duty bearers and rights holders of the relevant European standards;
  • by offering capacity-building for the various professional categories, anchored in the European standards and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR);
  • by facilitating regional dialogue and exchange of good practices, in synergy with the regional action.

What do we expect to achieve?

  • The legal framework will be improved and the judicial application of the European standards on freedom of expression, access to information, data protection and protection of journalists will be enhanced;
  • the Media Regulatory Authority, the Personal Data Protection Agency, the Agency for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information, and the public broadcaster implement changes in their policies and practices in line with European standards;
  • Journalists’ safety will be strengthened in terms of addressing threats and attacks, as a result of the established domestic legal mechanisms to protect freedom of expression, in line with European standards.

What is the budget of the action?

  • The total budget of the action is 680,000 EUR
  • The budget allocated to the overall Horizontal Facility programme amounts to ca. 41 Million EUR (85% funded by the European Union, 15% by the Council of Europe).

How to get more information?

 

About Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye

The “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye 2023-2026” is a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe that enables the Western Balkans’ Beneficiaries and Türkiye to meet their reform agendas in the fields of human rights, rule of law, and democracy and to comply with the European standards, which is also a priority for the EU enlargement process.


 

PROJECT CONTACTS

Mersiha Usein                         Senior Project Officer              +389 2 3100 323                    contact 

Ana Funa                                     Project Assistant                        +389 2 3100 336                     contact