Being a point of interest for the world’s superpowers, and a country where the best thriving element is corruption, in the past decade North Macedonia has faced significant challenges related to Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI). Although some of the main compounds are domestic, meaning poor media professionalism and political turmoil, the lack of coherent response from the whole society has allowed FIMI to affect the country’s development and recently particularly affect inter-ethnic relations, states the new analytical report on FIMI published by Metamorphosis Foundation.
We are republishing the executive summary from the report in its entirety:
In the last decade, the state institutions have not been very active in countering foreign malign influences and disinformation although in 2019 the Government had some efforts by proposing a concrete plan. The national Assembly on the other hand has been inactive in the whole process, so far not addressing the FIMI issue on any Parliamentary Committee. Currently at least five Committees have the mandate to address FIMI issues but only the Committee on Defense and Security had shown interest to engage.
So far, only the civil society organizations have been fully engaged in countering FIMI, not only with fact checking and debunking, but also with initiatives for a strategic and whole-society approach to the issues of FIMI to be treated as not only a media problem but also a security issue. Metamorphosis Foundation has been on the forefront of these efforts by initiating a set of recommendations for different stakeholders including the government supported by all relevant media associations and civil society organizations.
In the meantime, current FIMI tactics tend to undermine the 2001 Ohrid Framework Agreement, designed to ensure calm relations among ethnic groups. Manipulative narratives portray EU integration as a threat to Macedonian identity, spark fears among ethnic Macedonians about losing their identity.
To complete the opening phase of the negotiations for EU membership, the country needs to change its Constitution again and add the Bulgarian nation on an equal footing with other mentioned nations in the Preamble. Despite the Macedonian people, the Preamble now includes the Albanian people, Turkish people, Vlach people and Roma people. The previous government already proposed a solution: to add “the Bulgarian people, the Croatian people, the Montenegrin people, the Slovenian people, the Jewish people and the Egyptian people”. However, since two thirds of the Members of Parliament need to vote for changing the Constitution, the proposal so far is not scheduled for discussion because the previous ruling coalition had a thin majority in Parliament. The ruling coalition now though, lacks only two votes to have two-thirds majority.
The narrative around the inter-ethnic relations is that the ethnic Albanians in North Macedonia will have more gains from EU membership, while the Macedonians will lose their identity. Some extreme and anti-Western political actors, risking heightened ethnic divisions and instability, regularly use this narrative.
Political rhetoric has also contributed to the problem. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski has been relying on this narrative in his public speeches, which is very concerning. Recent electoral campaigns have seen a rise in anti-Albanian sentiment and divisive narratives from parties such as VMRO-DPMNE and Levica (The Left). Some ethnic Albanian political parties have also relied on the ethnicity narrative, like DUI (Democratic union for integration) and AA (Alliance for the Albanians). These narratives further polarize the population and foster distrust in Western institutions.
Additionally, disinformation campaigns leverage media channels and social media platforms with limited regulation, exploiting gaps in the information space.
Cybersecurity remains a significant challenge. The national cybersecurity strategy is underdeveloped, with insufficient attention given to emerging threats like artificial intelligence. This leaves North Macedonia vulnerable to further exploitation by malicious actors.
To address these threats, it is important for the national and European institutions to focus on:
- Developing comprehensive legislation specifically targeting FIMI. This includes strengthening media regulation and ensuring transparency and freedom of speech. It is crucial to assign a parliamentary committee with a clear mandate to oversee FIMI-related issues and to ensure effective implementation of countermeasures.
- Strictly regulated and transparent public awareness campaigns for educating citizens about foreign malign influence and promoting media literacy and critical thinking, which will help build societal resilience.
- The European institutions should support North Macedonia by providing technical assistance for the creation and implementation of anti-FIMI legislation.
- Enhancing cybersecurity collaboration and addressing AI-related threats through EU-funded projects.
- Following up on previous initiatives from the civil society sector and creating the basis for a systemic approach towards countering FIMI. The National Assembly should lead this process.
- Fostering regional dialogues and encouraging cooperation between North Macedonia and its neighbors.
- It is also important for the EU to ensure that the integration process remains transparent and supportive of North Macedonia’s efforts to combat FIMI, while addressing concerns about national identity and integration.
Fact is that safeguarding North Macedonia’s stability and societal cohesion requires a coordinated effort from both national and European institutions.
