Together with our member, Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC), we present the 2023 annual report on the civil society environment in North Macedonia.
The environment for CSOs in North Macedonia is generally supportive but requires improvement in key areas. The government should enhance civil society engagement in priority areas, consultation processes, and decision-making, making CSOs central to the reform agenda. Effective collaboration during policymaking is essential for fostering trust, dialogue, and cooperation. The Code of Good Practices outlines forms of engagement, but practical implementation of legal and financial frameworks, including public funding mechanisms, remains a challenge. Reviving the Council for Cooperation between the Government and Civil Society is vital to strengthening this partnership and advancing systematic engagement.
Below, we present you the key findings and key recommendations:
KEY FINDINGS
- CSOs in North Macedonia continue to operate in an enabling environment, but there are areas where improvement is needed. Freedom of association is guaranteed for all in legislation and exercised in practice without limitations.
- The comprehensive reform of the framework for state funding for CSOs has not progressed at all. State funding continues to be almost a non-recognizable source of income for CSOs and only available for a limited number of organizations. The lack of available funding is a serious challenge for CSOs.
- The boycott by the members of the Council continues to be in force and emphasizes the authorities’ failure to restore standard allocations for state funding in the annual program for cooperation with the civil sector. This underscores the challenges in maintaining effective collaboration between the government and civil society and emphasizes the need for improvements in the support mechanisms for CSOs.
- In 2023, there has been no progress regarding the Law on Donations and Sponsorships in Public Activities, despite initial plans for updating this law in collaboration with CSOs. Although there is an active working group within the Ministry of Justice dedicated to this matter, there was no significant advancement during the year.
- In 2023, 51.4% of draft laws were published on the Unique National Electronic Register of Regulations, marking an improvement over the previous years. This compares to 37% in 2022, 41% in 2021, and 49% in 2019.
- The government did not enhance its efforts to incorporate civil society engagement into priority areas and consultation processes.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
- The long awaited and discussed comprehensive reform to the state funding for CSOs to be finalized and the proposed model to be adopted and amended to the LAF. The process to be open and transparent for discussion for the issue with all relevant stakeholders but mainly with CSOs.
- The process of amendments of the LAF to continue and the law to be submitted to the Government in 2024 with all relevant amendments such as the reform of state funding.
- The Government should implement standards of involvement of CSOs in law-making and policy creation process and to implement even in state of crisis/emergency. Participation should start at an early stage, with adequate access to information and time for a quality and substantial response, and provision of feedback. ENER to be used according to the Governmental standards and to start discussions for improvement of this tool.
- The government should guarantee a transparent and open process for selecting new members of the Cooperation Council. This will facilitate direct and immediate collaboration with this body, which serves as the highest authority for cooperation with CSOs. Additionally, the council should be integrated into LAF to ensure its efficient operation in the future.
- The process of changes to the Law on Donations and Sponsorships in Public Activities (LDSPA) to continue together with LAF. The processes to be in parallel for the relevance of the common issues. Although the Strategy has foreseen changes for this issue this process is pending for many years.
- It is essential to increase efforts to expedite the revision of the LDSPA, ensuring that the concerns raised by CSOs regarding donation and sponsorship regulations are effectively addressed. Setting clear timelines, increasing stakeholder engagement, and providing the necessary resources to the working group to facilitate more efficient progress.
This report is part of a series of country reports covering six countries in the Westerns Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. A Regional Report provided by BCSDN will soon be available.
This report has been produced with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
Interested in reading more? Find the full report HERE.