North Macedonia has gone through a series of socio-political reforms since regime change in 2017. Recent key events include the ground-breaking agreement with Greece on the country’s naming and the decision to make Albanian the official national language. The government’s emphasis on the international agenda in recent years has also meant that the pace of internal reform has slowed down. The future of the country remains uncertain with early parliamentary elections expected in 2020.
Civil society is free and vibrant, although it lacks professionalism and faces significant funding and sustainability challenges. Civil scrutiny on government accountability has weakened. The media scene is oversaturated with many poor-quality online publications and it is prone to political interference. Media professionals and journalists have few employment rights, with unstable working conditions and irregular contracts the norm.
EED approach and added value
- Provide support to informal groups, start-up organisations and emerging civic actors
- Support for independent media, particularly innovative approaches
- Support youth activism and volunteerism
Examples of supported initiatives
- Emerging media that provide high quality content based on investigative reporting, as well as non-news media products
- Creative forms of youth activism and volunteerism
- Start-up organisations
- Political think tanks
