Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

Added8. Recalls that bilateral disputes between countries should be addressed through open dialogue, involving civil society and experts, and genuine cooperation, in good faith and in accordance with international law, and should not be instrumentalised within the accession process;

Added9. Underlines that linguistic, cultural and national identities are the genuine foundation of every country and should not be put in question by third parties; notes, furthermore, that such matters should not influence the EU accession process, which focuses on the implementation of the EU acquis and alignment with EU values and principles as set out in the Copenhagen criteria and the principles of good neighbourly relations, and which should be guided by objective criteria and solely based on merit; firmly rejects ethno-nationalist rhetoric, including by political actors, that foments division and undermines good neighbourly relations and relations between ethnic groups and communities; calls for the EU to step up efforts to curb such rhetoric and its impact;

Added10. Welcomes the stability of interethnic relations in North Macedonia and the implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement, including through equitable representation mechanisms; calls on all actors to preserve the foundations of stability and integrity of the country, advance relations, cooperation and exchanges between ethnic and minority groups and other communities, and avoid divisive rhetoric;

Added11. Takes note of the decision of the Constitutional Court of North Macedonia of 18 September 2024 on the annulment of certain provisions concerning quotas for representatives of Albanian and other communities in public institutions; underlines that the administration of the country should reflect its multi-ethnic composition; calls on the authorities to ensure the adequate and fair representation of all communities in line with the Ohrid Framework Agreement and to amend and implement the respective draft law fully in line with the opinion of the Venice Commission and EU standards;

Added12. Notes that the Stabilisation and Association Committee recently welcomed progress in achieving the benchmarks for the opening of the fundamentals cluster through roadmaps for public administration reform and for the rule of law chapters; encourages North Macedonia to prepare and finalise all work related to the opening benchmarks for the fundamentals cluster in a transparent and meaningful consultation process with all relevant stakeholders, including civil society;

Functioning of democratic institutions

Change 5

Changed7.13. Notes that, while democratic institutions in North Macedonia function satisfactorily, political polarisation persists and delays much needed reforms and appointments; regrets that no attempts werehave been made to adopt the constitutional changes to which the country has committed, and which are needed to unblockopen the openingfundamentals cluster; urges all political parties represented in the Assembly of the ‘fundamentals’Republic cluster;of North Macedonia to overcome the heated campaign rhetoric and work together in a bipartisan fashion towards reaching an agreement on the necessary reforms; calls for the EU institutions and Member States to step up efforts to facilitate the resolution of this issue, including through technical assistance and dialogue facilitation;

Change 6

Changed8.14. Underlines that parliamentary oversight of the executive should be further strengthened and calls for enhanced scrutiny mechanisms;mechanisms, including greater involvement of opposition parties and civil society actors;

Change 7

Removed9. Notes that a comprehensive electoral reform is still overdue; reiterates its call for the implementation of the outstanding recommendations made by the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission; calls, furthermore, for more transparency regarding the financing of political parties and political advertising;

Added15. Welcomes the fact that the local elections held in October and November 2025 were generally competitive and that the election administration managed electoral preparations in a mostly efficient manner, despite some procedural shortcomings; notes that a comprehensive electoral reform is still overdue; reiterates its call for the implementation of the outstanding recommendations made by the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission in a transparent manner, involving all relevant stakeholders; calls, furthermore, for more transparency regarding the financing and the expenses of political parties and political advertising, both in traditional media and online, especially on social media; calls on North Macedonia to close regulatory gaps that enable covert influence in elections, in particular by regulating online political advertising, including through mandatory sponsor identification, expenditure transparency and meaningful disclosure of targeting criteria, and by addressing third-party financing and campaign-related spending channels; calls for equitable state funding and for all political parties and independent candidates to have equal access to the media;

Removed10. Recognises that moderate progress has been achieved in public administration reform and digital transformation; notes, however, that further efforts are needed, including reforms of local self-government;

Added16. Calls for genuine and meaningful political empowerment of women at local, regional and national level to enhance their participation in the electoral process and political decision-making; further recommends introducing gender quotas where they are not yet in place in order to ensure compliance with the gender balance commitment set out in the national gender equality strategy;

Added17. Recognises that moderate progress has been achieved in public administration reform and digital transformation, enhancing transparency and efficiency in the public sector, including through the recently adopted legislation on electronic identification in line with EU regulations; notes, however, that further efforts are needed, including reforms of local self-government and stronger implementation of the 2023-2030 public administration strategy that would enable local administrations to provide better services to citizens, develop and implement local and regional development strategies, and ensure that the necessary administrative capacity is in place;

Added18. Urges further depoliticisation of the public administration and full implementation of merit-based recruitment and senior management selection procedures, in line with EU standards;

Added19. Welcomes the recent appointment of the new Ombudsperson; positively notes the format of public hearings for the appointment of public posts, which increase transparency and public scrutiny; expresses concern, however, regarding indications of political favouritism in the appointment process of members of the Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination; stresses that equality bodies must operate independently and free from political interference;

Media and civil society

Change 8

Changed11.20. Welcomes the fact that North Macedonia provides adequate legal guarantees on the freedom of expression; notes, however, the need for further improvement towards a truly enabling environment for free and independent media; calls on the media to exercise restraint in publishing rhetoric that may undermine relations between ethnic groups and communities; underscores the need for social media platforms to strengthen content moderation, particularly in relation to ethnic hate speech; encourages, furthermore, the development of local and regional private media;

Change 9

Removed12. Notes with concern the increasing concentration of media ownership; calls for stronger safeguards for editorial independence, transparent state advertising practices and protection of journalists;

Added21. Notes that effective implementation of the legal provisions for the protection of journalists remains challenging, particularly in cases of online harassment and gender-based violence targeting female journalists; is concerned that the lack of specific anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) legislation and the limited awareness of this issue among judges, lawyers and journalists remain obstacles to effectively protecting journalists and public critics from SLAPPs; underlines the need for national legislation aligned with the Anti-SLAPP Directive to be adopted; expresses concerns about the socio-economic insecurity of media workers, with particular concerns for women working in media; calls on law enforcement and judicial officials to ensure effective investigations and sanctions for attacks, threats, harassment and pressure against journalists, with a specific focus on female journalists; urges the relevant authorities to proactively prevent and systematically prosecute all instances of hate speech, hate crimes and intimidation, to thoroughly investigate related attacks and to ensure the safety and security of their targets, such as journalists and people belonging to minorities, communities and other vulnerable groups;

Removed13. Expresses concern regarding disinformation campaigns which call into question democratic values and the country’s goal of EU membership;

Added22. Notes with concern the increasing concentration of media ownership and the risks of hidden control through intermediaries; calls for stronger safeguards for editorial independence, transparent state advertising practices and the protection of journalists; emphasises the urgent need for effective media reform and the adoption of effective anti-concentration measures, including full transparency of media ownership and of the allocation of public funds for state advertising, as well as compliance with rules on competition, State aid and intellectual property rights; emphasises that media pluralism is essential for democratic resilience; underlines the need to strengthen the independence and capacity of the media regulator, the public service broadcaster and the regulator of electronic communications;

Removed14. Welcomes the generally enabling environment for civil society organisations, while underlining the need to have civil society more involved in priority areas and public consultations; calls for transparent public funding for civil society organisations;

Added23. Expresses concerns over the strategic acquisition of key television stations and news portals by Hungarian media executives, thereby enabling anti-European narratives to permeate public discourse in North Macedonia;

Added24. Expresses serious concern about persistent attempts to distort public debate and undermine trust in democratic institutions and the country’s European path through coordinated manipulation of the information environment, including covert influence operations and malign narratives; calls for the EU and its Member States to undertake further efforts to support North Macedonia in combating malign foreign interference in the country, including through technical assistance; underlines that malign foreign influence weakens institutional credibility and polarises society; calls on the authorities to establish a comprehensive and institutionalised framework for democratic resilience with clearly defined responsibilities, regular risk assessments and public reporting, in line with evolving EU standards for the protection of democratic processes; calls, furthermore, for enhancing media and digital literacy, promoting fact-checking, combating hate speech in all its forms and strengthening resilience to hybrid threats that challenge democratic values and the country’s goal of EU membership;

Added25. Notes that the lack of EU accession prospects in recent years has created space for authoritarian actors to increase their engagement in the country; encourages, therefore, transparent and fact-based public communication on EU-related reforms and the accession process in order to maintain broad societal support and counter disinformation; urges the Commission, in this regard, to communicate more effectively with the Macedonian public about the persistent lack of political will to advance reforms that would address issues affecting all citizens of North Macedonia;

Added26. Welcomes the generally enabling environment for civil society organisations, while underlining the need to involve civil society more in priority areas and public consultations; notes the reactivation of the Council for Cooperation between the Government and Civil Society; calls for transparent public funding for civil society organisations and improvement of legislation and its alignment with international standards such as recommendations of the Venice Commission and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance; underlines the importance of ensuring inclusive consultations and transparency with civil society organisations; calls on the Commission to support civil society organisations that are thoroughly monitoring and, if necessary, criticising the implementation of EU-related reforms;

Fundamental rights

Change 10

Removed15. Notes that the general framework for fundamental rights is broadly satisfactory; calls, however, on the Macedonian Government to improve the legal and institutional framework on gender equality and on combating gender-based and domestic violence;

Added27. Underlines the obligation of all member states of the Council of Europe to promptly implement pending judgments of the European Court of Human Rights; highlights that any legislative changes should comply with international standards and recommendations of the Venice Commission and be in line with the Recommendation of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, including the Law on Associations and Foundations and the implementation of court rulings concerning the registration of associations;

Removed16. Underlines the need to continue working to improve the situation of non-majority communities, including with regard to the use of languages, as well as to fight discrimination and promote diversity;

Added28. Notes that the general legal framework for fundamental rights is largely in line with European standards; calls, however, on the Government of North Macedonia to strengthen its implementation in practice, in particular by improving the institutional framework for gender equality and ensuring effective protection mechanisms against gender-based and domestic violence, access to healthcare services and the allocation of sufficient resources to victim support services; calls for the final adoption of the Law on Gender Equality, the Law on Labour Relations and the Law on Prevention and Protection from Harassment at Work, in line with international standards and the EU acquis, with a view to improving women’s quality of life by addressing key gender equality issues, particularly regarding access to political, economic and social life;

Removed17. Notes with concern that hardly any progress has been achieved on reducing the barriers persons with disabilities face in most aspects of life;

Added29. Welcomes the 2023 amendments to the Criminal Code aligning domestic legislation with the Istanbul Convention; notes, in particular, the shift to a consent-based definition of rape and the explicit recognition of gender-based violence; welcomes, furthermore, the 2026 amendments strengthening the prosecution of domestic and gender-based violence and criminalising the non-consensual dissemination of intimate images; considers that these reforms represent meaningful alignment with European standards;

Removed18. Calls for the legal protection of the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons to be improved and hate speech against the community be addressed;

Added30. Underlines the need to continue working to improve the situation of non-majority communities, including with regard to the use of languages, as well as to fight discrimination and promote diversity; welcomes progress on the action plan on the protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities or communities, and encourages North Macedonia to finalise it in an inclusive manner, establishing clear benchmarks, measurable indicators and a dedicated monitoring mechanism, with the goal of guaranteeing effective protection against discrimination and improving the fundamental rights of all citizens of North Macedonia; urges the relevant political stakeholders to refrain from using polarising and escalatory language that may affect relations among communities and minorities;

Added31. Stresses that North Macedonia’s ethnic and cultural diversity constitutes an invaluable asset and should be turned into a source of strength to further consolidate democratic and inclusive governance and accelerate North Macedonia’s path towards EU accession; encourages North Macedonia to include all of its ethnic communities in its constitution, foster inclusivity, protect diversity, fight discrimination and strengthen social cohesion in line with European values and democratic principles, and fully guarantee equal rights and opportunities for all;

Added32. Calls for intensified efforts to address the persistent socio-economic exclusion of Roma; urges the authorities to ensure the effective implementation of the strategy for Roma inclusion, with measurable indicators, proper institutional monitoring and adequate budget allocation; expresses concern about the continued practice of school segregation in certain municipalities and calls for proactive desegregation measures;

Added33. Notes, with concern, that hardly any progress has been achieved on reducing the barriers persons with disabilities face in most aspects of life; encourages greater effort to complete the legal and institutional framework on the rights of persons with disabilities and to improve its implementation and enforcement; notes persistent structural challenges in the work of North Macedonia’s Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination owing to a lack of resources;

Added34. Calls for the legal protection of the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons to be improved and for hate speech against the community to be addressed, including online; is deeply alarmed by the escalation of hatred against LGBTIQ+ persons and civil society organisations in North Macedonia;

Added35. Urges all political actors to amend the Law on Civil Registry, ensure swift, accessible and unimpeded legal gender recognition and establish a transparent legal procedure in line with international standards and the respective 2019 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights;

Added36. Urges the authorities to restore key anti-discrimination terminology in the Law on Primary Education and calls for the reintroduction of provisions on mandatory reporting of school violence in order to protect vulnerable groups;

Added37. Notes, with concern, the living conditions in prisons in North Macedonia, which need to be addressed urgently;

Added38. Welcomes enhanced cooperation on border management and calls on North Macedonia to strengthen migration management, combat criminal networks of migrant smugglers, human traffickers and other types of organised crime, improve alignment with the EU acquis and address persistent challenges in handling regular and irregular migration in full respect of human rights and international law; underlines that illegal pushbacks at North Macedonia’s borders need to be prevented;

Rule of law

Change 11

Changed19.39. Expresses concern that the judicial system, the independence of courts and the prosecution, and efforts to strengthen the rule of law and anti-corruption frameworks have not advanced sufficiently; calls on political stakeholders to urgently refrain from political interference in the judiciary; notes, with concern, deep structural weaknesses and negative trends in the functioning of the judiciary, including inadequate financing and staffing of judicial institutions, undermining its independence; calls, therefore, on North Macedonia to accelerate the implementation of the Strategy for Judicial Reform 2024-2028;

Change 12

Removed20. Notes with concern that no progress was made in preventing and combating corruption and that corruption remains prevalent in many areas;

Added40. Underlines the importance of safeguarding the integrity and independence of the judiciary, including by strengthening the Judicial Council in line with the recommendation and opinion of the 2023 Venice Commission peer review mission ;

Removed21. Calls in particular for investigations and final convictions in high-level corruption cases which could serve as an example that corruption is being addressed at all levels and that there shall be no impunity;

Added41. Expresses concern that the amendments to the Criminal Code in North Macedonia, which have shortened statutes of limitations and reduced penalties for high-level corruption and abuse of office, have undermined ongoing judicial proceedings, including high-profile cases, generating a perception of impunity for prominent political actors and further weakening public confidence in the judiciary;

Added42. Calls on the competent authorities to ensure adequate follow-up on cases of potential hate crime, including those concerning ethnic groups and communities;

Added43. Notes, with concern, that no progress has been made in preventing and combating corruption and that corruption remains prevalent in many areas; underscores that a significant and inexplicable gap remains between formally announced corruption investigations and judicial findings of guilt in high-level corruption cases; calls on the Government of North Macedonia to improve the implementation of its national strategy for the prevention of corruption and conflict of interest and to adopt a new Criminal Code in line with the EU acquis and international standards; calls, furthermore, for strengthened whistleblower protection, as it remains weak, thus discouraging individuals from reporting instances of corruption; welcomes, however, North Macedonia’s active participation in the International Treaty on Exchange of Data for the Verification of Asset Declarations, positioning the country as a regional reference point in this mechanism;

Added44. Urges the timely adoption of a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy for 2026-2030 with clear responsibilities and measurable targets, and calls for the implementation of outstanding recommendations of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO);

Added45. Notes, with concern, that delays in court proceedings and resource constraints continue to hinder the establishment of a robust track record of high-level corruption cases; calls, in particular, for investigations and final convictions in high-level corruption cases, which could serve as an example that corruption is being addressed at all levels and that there will be no impunity;

Added46. Notes that the perceived level of trust in the judiciary remains very low and that further efforts are needed to prevent undue influence and intimidation;

Added47. Calls on North Macedonia to enhance its efforts to combat money laundering;

Added48. Calls for a more concerted effort in effectively countering organised crime; calls on the Government of North Macedonia to align national legislation on weapons, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances with the EU acquis;

Added49. Encourages the national authorities to establish a comprehensive support framework for female survivors of gender-based violence, including by providing legally guaranteed financial assistance, guaranteeing free legal aid and exemption from court costs, creating a state fund to cover unpaid child support, and increasing investment in women’s economic empowerment through targeted training, social enterprises and local employment initiatives;

Socio-economic reforms

Change 13

Removed22. Supports continued efforts to modernise the economy, address skills mismatches, strengthen the digital economy and improve the business environment;

Added50. Supports continued efforts to modernise the economy, address skills mismatches, strengthen the digital economy and improve the business environment, which are consistent with responding to the competitive pressures of the EU internal market; emphasises that sustainable economic growth depends on the rule of law, the predictability of the judiciary and effective action against corruption; calls for the implementation of the 2023 Organic Budget Law, introducing fiscal rules and a Fiscal Council and strengthening the medium-term budget procedure;