In light of the political crisis in Macedonia and the large number of illegally intercepted communications which were being published since 9 February 2015, and the systemic problems which they have revealed or confirmed, the European Commission recruited a group of independent senior rule of law experts to carry out an analysis of the situation and provide recommendations to address the issues.
The report provided by the experts’ group, among the other findings and recommendations, “noted the commitment of several NGOs engaged in promoting democratic standards in particular in relation to free elections, free media, proper oversight of the intelligence services and an independent judiciary”. The expert group highlights that “these organisations as well as state institutions like the Ombudsman, the State Election Commission or the Directorate for Personal Data Protection can and should play a central role in overcoming the current crisis by addressing shortcomings in an open, transparent and constructive manner”. It furthermore emphasizes that none of these public or non-governmental bodies should be pressured not to exercise their mandate and tasks to the full extent of their responsibilities.
The full report, published by the European Commission can be found here.