North Macedonia – annual report 2024
- Details
- Published: September 4, 2025
Strategic Framework
Legal Policy Starting Point
After lengthy delays due to bilateral disputes between North Macedonia on one side and Greece and Bulgaria on the other the EU officially opened accession negotiations with North Macedonia in July 2022. A reform government of the social democratic SDSM party and parties from the Albanian minority was in power from 2017 to spring 2024. The victory of the right-wing opposition in the presidential and parliamentary elections brought about a significant change in the political situation and also led to a comprehensive change of personnel in key positions. Later in the year, the European Council declared that a further intergovernmental conference would not be convened until North Macedonia had finalised the constitutional changes to which it had committed itself.
Overall Concept
IRZ started its work in North Macedonia in 2000 as part of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe and is currently implementing activities by means of institutional grants of the BMJV and project funding from the Federal Foreign Office. In response to the political changes described above, activities in 2024 focused on the area of human rights as part of an already long-standing cooperation with the Constitutional Court, the Bureau for Representation of the Republic of North Macedonia before the European Court of Human Rights and the Centre for German Law at the Faculty of Law in Skopje.
Focus of Activity in 2024
Constitutional law, Human Rights and their Enforceability
- Compilation of a newsletter on the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights in Macedonian and Albanian
- Participation of the Constitutional Court of North Macedonia in the regional conference “Strengthening human rights legal protection by the Constitutional Courts in Environmental and Climate Protection”, jointly organised with the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Tuzla
- Participation in the specialised conference on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Constitutional Court of North Macedonia in Skopje
- Workshop on the topics of academic work, legal methodology and cooperation between academic staff and the judges of the Constitutional Court of North Macedonia at the Constitutional Court in Skopje
Administration of Justice
- Regional online workshop to support and strengthen network contacts of institutions and individuals working in the field of German law with the participation of the Centre for German Law at the Faculty of Law in Skopje, including the provision of literature and online licences
Basic and Further Training
- Participation of a representative of the Judicial Academy of North Macedonia “Pavel Shatev” in the regional exchange of experience on the topics of “Improvement and modernisation of legal education”, “Practice-oriented legal didactics” and “Monitoring and evaluation”, jointly organised with the Centre for Judicial and Prosecutorial Training of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo
- Active involvement of participants from North Macedonia in the regional annual workshop of German-speaking IRZ alumni on the topic of “News from German law” in Belgrade and in the two regional online courses in hybrid format with a face-to-face character in Novi Sad on the introduction to German law and German legal language
Project funded by the European Union
EU Twinning project “Enhancement of capacities of the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services and the Public Service Broadcaster”
The EU Twinning Project “Enhancement of capacities of the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services and the Public Service Broadcaster” implemented by IRZ in North Macedonia was almost completed in 2024.
The aim of supporting the work of public broadcasting and the media agency in North Macedonia was fully achieved. Short-term experts from both the German media supervisory authorities and the public broadcasters shared their knowledge and experience with their colleagues from the North Macedonian partner organisations. The basis for this was the legal and regulatory framework provided by the EU and the best practices within the EU member states.
The first project component directed at the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services (AAAVMS). One thematic focus was on promoting media literacy and combating disinformation and unethical media reporting more effectively, especially on the internet. Among others, experts from Germany held lectures at the annual “Media Literacy Days” in Skopje, an event lasting several days by various organisations with the aim of strengthening the media skills of young people in North Macedonia. Six staff members of the above mentioned Agency had the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of European legal standards and the practice of German media supervision and to draw practical conclusions for their work in North Macedonia during two study trips to Strasbourg and Ludwigshafen as well as to Düsseldorf, Cologne and Bonn.
The second component served the purpose of supporting the public broadcasting authority of North Macedonia, MRT. The German experts analysed the broadcaster’s weak points, from its technical and financial resources to its editorial processes and personnel policies. They presented their suggestions for improvement and also trained reporters, editors and technical staff in modern forms of television presentation.
At the same time, they emphasised the urgent need for MRT to become more visible to younger people in North Macedonia through a stronger presence on the internet and social media. The tools for monitoring and evaluating public opinion via the public broadcasting services also need to be improved.
Outlook
IRZ will continue its cooperation with the Constitutional Court and the government representative before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the area of human rights in 2025. Legal training and orientation towards the principles of continental European law will continue to be the focus of cooperation with the Centre for German Law.