2024 Rule of Law Report - Country Chapter North Macedonia

The 2024 European Commission Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in North Macedonia pointed out that the media regulator, the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services (AAAMS), faced challenges to its independent functioning in 2023. Moreover, the situation is precarious due to the failure of the Parliament to secure a two-thirds majority to appoint members to the media regulator’s Council since 2018. 

The Council of Media Ethics in North Macedonia in 2023 faced increased pressure from several political and economic sources. In recent years there has been a fourfold increase in the number of complaints related to hate speeches. Print and broadcast media are legally required to make ownership details public, but there is no specific media law addressing ownership. There are concerns about self-censorship, mostly due to the interference of media owners with strong political ties. 

The public service broadcaster - the Macedonian Radio Television - faces significant challenges, as pointed out also in the Media Pluralism Monitor 2024. There is an urgent need to bolster the independence and professional standards within the broadcaster. The operational abilities are severely challenged due to the unstable funding it receives. 

Though recent legislative developments, like the February 2023 reform of the Criminal Code, have bolstered legal protection for journalists, a high degree of violence and threats remain. A dedicated public prosecutor has been appointed, and those guilty of violence or intimidation against journalists are now subject to more intense penalties but attacks on journalists are poorly documented, and old cases remain pending. When it comes to attacks on t journalists, impunity levels remain quite high.