Post-monitoring dialogue with North Macedonia

1North Macedonia joined the Council of Europe in 1995. Until 2000, it was subject to the full monitoring procedure. By means of Resolution 1213 (2000), the Parliamentary Assembly decided to close the full monitoring procedure and engage in a post-monitoring dialogue on “the issues referred to in paragraph 13 [of Resolution 1213 (2000)] or any other issue arising from the obligations of Macedonia as a member State of the Council of Europe”.At the time of the adoption of the resolution, the official denomination at the Council of Europe was “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. Since 2000, the progress in addressing these outstanding concerns has been systematically assessed by the Assembly and its Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee), in particular in Assembly’s Resolution 1949 (2013) and Resolution 2304 (2019).

2The Assembly refers to Resolution 2304 (2019), in which it acknowledged the progress made by North Macedonia in the fields of democracy, rule of law, human rights protection and relations with neighbouring countries. However, it resolved then not to close the post-monitoring dialogue and to assess, in its next report, the progress made in particular in the following areas: the further consolidation of the sustainability and functioning of democratic institutions, the independence of the judiciary, the fight against corruption, the consolidation of the electoral framework and the pursuance of inclusive policies aiming at securing the rights of minorities (including for the Roma community).

3The last parliamentary elections took place on 8 May 2024. They were won by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO DPMNE) party, after seven years in opposition. On the same day, following a second round of election, the VMRO DPMNE candidate, Ms Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, was elected as first female Head of State of North Macedonia. On 23 June 2024, the parliament approved a new government led by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, backed by a coalition of the VMRO-DPMNE party, the Albanian coalition VLEN and the ZNAM (For Our Macedonia) party. Local elections took place in two rounds on 19 October and 2 November 2025, VMRO-DPMNE candidates won in the majority of municipalities, including Skopje.

4The Assembly welcomes the swift establishment of the coalition government and its demonstrated political will and commitment to fully honour the commitments and obligations reflected in Resolution 2304 (2019), as confirmed by its continued co-operation with Council of Europe bodies including the Monitoring Committee and the European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission).

5The 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections were observed by Assembly ad hoc committees for the observation of elections, which concluded that the elections were competitive and well run and that fundamental freedoms, including media freedom, were respected. The local elections of 19 October 2025 were observed by a mission of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, which concluded that the elections were well-organised.

6Nevertheless, the Assembly notes that several key recommendations from the Venice Commission and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) remain unimplemented, particularly with regard to campaign rules, access to the media, and the allocation of State funding. It reiterates that, in a democratic State, it is crucial that the legal framework remains conducive to the holding of democratic elections. Therefore, the Assembly urges the authorities to reform, as a matter of priority, the Electoral Code and other relevant electoral laws, by implementing the outstanding recommendations of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR.

7The Assembly welcomes the measures taken and envisaged by the authorities to reform the judiciary and prosecution services. In particular, it welcomes the steps taken to increase transparency in the work of the Judicial Council, the recruitment of new judges and prosecutors, and the introduction of the Automated Court Case Management Information System (ACCMIS) and other digital case management tools. However, the Assembly remains concerned about the low level of perceived judicial independence and the numerous allegations of the politicisation of the judiciary. It is also concerned about the judiciary's outdated infrastructure and its insufficient human and financial resources. It stresses that reforming the judiciary and prosecution services should be a priority, and that more financial and human resources are needed to make them fully operational. It urges the authorities to address these issues without delay.

8The Assembly welcomes the government’s work on the draft laws on the Judicial Council, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Council of Public Prosecutors as well as its co-operation with the Venice Commission on these matters. It calls on the authorities to adopt the draft legislation as soon as possible, taking into account the recommendations included in the Venice Commission’s Opinions Nos. 1242/2025 (CDL-AD(2025)026) and 1259/2025 (CDL-AD(2025)036). In particular, the Assembly urges the authorities to implement the Group of States Against Corruption's (GRECO’s) long-standing recommendation to remove the Minister of Justice from the Judicial Council's composition.

9The Assembly welcomes the measures undertaken by the authorities with a view to preventing and combating corruption. It takes note of GRECO’s decision of 1 December 2023 to close the Fourth Evaluation Round on prevention of corruption in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors (Second Addendum to the Second Compliance Report) and notes that, out of 19 recommendations, North Macedonia has implemented 14, while four remaining recommendations have been partly implemented and one recommendation – concerning the Minister of Justice’s ex officio membership in the Judicial Council – has not been implemented. In March 2025, GRECO also closed its Fifth Evaluation Round on preventing corruption and promoting integrity in central governments (top executive functions) and law enforcement agencies, in which it formulated 23 recommendations. GRECO concluded that 17 recommendations had been implemented and six had been partly implemented (Addendum to the Second Compliance Report).

10Despite this progress, the Assembly is concerned about numerous allegations of widespread corruption throughout the public sector, as well as the lack of effective measures to combat this phenomenon. It calls on the authorities to address these concerns as a matter of priority, in particular by:

10.1fully implementing the outstanding GRECO’s recommendations;

10.2taking concrete steps to investigate and prosecute corruption offences;

10.3amending the Criminal Code in order to remove the 2023 amendments that reduced criminal responsibility for certain corruption offences;

10.4providing effective and dissuasive sanctions for corruption offences and in case of conflicts of interest;

10.5reinforcing the resources of the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption and of the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecuting Organised Crime and Corruption;

10.6adopting a comprehensive legislation to protect whistle-blowers, in line with European standards.

11The Assembly acknowledges that North Macedonia is a country with a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-confessional character, which fosters and implements a “living together” culture and mentality. In particular, it welcomes the country’s long-standing commitment to addressing the human rights issues faced by the Roma community. This commitment is evident in the adoption of the National Strategy for Roma Inclusion (2022-2030), as well as in the progress made in improving civil registration and access to education for the Roma community.

12Nevertheless, some issues still need to be resolved, such as reforming the “balancer” mechanism concerning access to employment in the public sector, applying the Law on the Use of Languages, and respecting the rights of people belonging to the Bulgarian ethnic minority. There are also outstanding concerns affecting the Roma community, including environmental risks such as air and waste pollution, and inadequate housing conditions due to lack of access to clean water, sanitation and waste removal. Therefore, the Assembly invites the authorities to address these concerns without delay.

13The Assembly regrets that, thus far, the parliament has been unable to reach a compromise on the “French proposal”, which would involve including a reference to the Bulgarian ethnic minority in the Preamble to the Constitution. This is a prerequisite for progressing in the negotiation process for accession to the European Union. The Assembly invites all political forces to reach an agreement on this matter.

14The Assembly notes that over 30 judgments of the European Court of Human Rights concerning North Macedonia are still to be implemented and calls on the authorities to implement them fully and swiftly. Priority should be given to the X. v. the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia judgment, which concerns the lack of legislation on the conditions and procedures for transgender people to change their sex on birth certificates, and the Elmazova and Others v. North Macedonia judgment, which concerns discrimination against Roma pupils due to their segregation in State-run schools.

15The Assembly is concerned about the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment's (CPT’s) findings regarding the numerous allegations of ill-treatment of people deprived of their liberty by the police, as well as the worrying situation in North Macedonia’s prisons. This situation is characterised by physical ill-treatment of prisoners by staff, prolonged isolation of challenging prisoners, high levels of inter-prisoner violence, unhygienic and unsafe conditions, pervasive staff corruption and favouritism, and inadequate healthcare provision. The Assembly welcomes the authorities’ commitment to solving these problems, as well as the measures recently taken to reform the prison system and improve the material conditions in the Idrizovo prison. It urges the authorities to implement the CPT’s outstanding recommendations without delay, in co-operation with the Council of Europe Development Bank and other stakeholders.

16Against this background, the Assembly resolves to close the post-monitoring dialogue with North Macedonia and to follow the developments in the country with regard to pluralist democracy, the rule of law, and human rights in the framework of its periodic reviews. It invites the Monitoring Committee to devote one of its future periodic reviews to North Macedonia in order to evaluate progress with regard to the non-resolved issues such as the reform of the electoral framework, the judiciary and the prosecution services, combating corruption, the pursuance of inclusive policies aimed at securing the rights of minorities and poor conditions in detention centres.