THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION 2024 RULE OF LAW REPORT ﹘ COUNTRY CHAPTER ON THE RULE OF LAW SITUATION IN NORTH MACEDONIA

The 2024 Rule of Law Report presents a synthesis of both the rule of law situation in the EU and an assessment of the situation in each Member State and enlargement countries. For the first time, the 2024 Report also includes country chapters on four enlargement countries (North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania).

The recommendations included in this report aim to further assist the Member States in their efforts to take forward ongoing reforms and help them identify where improvements are needed. To this end, the 2024 Rule of Law Report notes the following:

“The Agency for Protection of Free Access to Public Information ensures access to public information as the citizens’ right embedded in the Constitution and secondary legislation. Despite the limited resources, The Agency for Protection of Free Access to Public Information processes lodged appeals and monitors information holders while there are concerns regarding refusals and delays.

On average, there have been 8,500 requests for public information annually in the past three years. Stakeholders expressed concerns that the protection of personal data is often used as a blanket reason to refuse access to documents. The delay in obtaining the information is too long, especially for journalists who work on tight deadlines, while the public administration is not sufficiently responsive in giving access to information in practice.”

Taking that into consideration, The Agency for the Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information remains committed to the realization of its competencies as a credible affirmer and protector of the right to free access to public information in the direction of increasing transparency and accountability of institutions and facilitating access to public information.