The 19th meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Subcommittee on Justice, Freedom, and Security with North Macedonia took place in Brussels on March 13 and 14, 2025. The meeting was co-chaired for the European Commission by Mr. **Giulio Venneri**, deputy Head of Unit for Albania and North Macedonia in the Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood, and for North Macedonia by Ms. **Eva Ilievska**, Head of the Sector for EU Integration and Negotiation in the Ministry of the Interior and Ms. **Bojana Bosilkova**, Acting Head of the EU Department Ministry of Justice. The Subcommittee reviewed developments in areas covered by Chapters 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and 24 (Justice, Freedom, and Security).
Recalling the assessment provided in the 2024 annual report**,** the Commission urged the authorities of North Macedonia to make sustained efforts to ensure the independence, professionalism, transparency, and impartiality of the **judiciary**. The Commission expressed serious concern regarding the attempts of undue external and political pressure on the judiciary. The Commission in particular expressed regrets for the ‘interpellations’ against five non-magistrate members of the Judicial Council, as these undermine the independent mandate of the Council members. Furthermore, the dismissal procedure against the chief prosecutor raised concerns for lacking sufficient safeguards against politicisation. The authorities of North Macedonia presented the progress in implementing the Judicial Reform Strategy for 2024-2028 and their plans to follow up on the recommendations from the peer review mission of December 2023 to strengthen the independence, impartiality and credibility of the Judicial Council and to address shortcomings in its functioning. Echoing once again a recommendation already issued in previous rounds of the Enlargement Package, the Commission reiterated the need to see a change of gear in the **repression of corruption**, through further tangible efforts towards a solid track record, in particular to countercorruption at high-level. The Commission also reiterated its serious concerns about the amendments to the Criminal Code adopted in September 2023, which weakened the legal framework and have negatively affected the prosecution of corruption and organised and serious crime offences. The authorities of North Macedonia have confirmed that a new revision of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code is being prepared. The Commission emphasised that this is also a crucial step of the Reform Agenda in the context of the Reform and Growth Facility, with a clear deadline for adoption by the end of the year. The Commission stands ready to provide support and timely technical expertise, as necessary.
Regarding **fundamental rights**, the Commission called upon the authorities to improve prison conditions in line with the recommendations from the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the recommendations from the UN Committee against Torture. The authorities underlined the efforts to amend the Law on Media to align it better with the EU _acquis_, notably by including online media in the legislation. The Commission encouraged the allocation of sufficient specialised staff and financial resources to the Ombudsman and the Commission for the Prevention and Protection against Discrimination, allowing them to fully exercise their respective mandates. The Commission stressed the need for further legislative alignment with the EU _acquis_ on non-discrimination, gender equality and combating gender-based violence policies and the need to ensure availability and access to specialised support services for victims.
As regards **the fight against organised crime**, the Commission invited the authorities of North Macedonia to further strengthen cooperation with Member states and EU law enforcement agencies. The Commission noted the country’s efforts to develop strategic and legal framework but encouraged further alignment with the EU acquis in this area. The Commission invited the authorities to further improve their administrative and operational capacities, notably in the areas of anti-money laundering, asset recovery and confiscation, financial investigations, cybercrime, firearms trafficking. The Commission underlined the importance of building a solid track record on investigations, prosecutions and convictions in all forms of serious and organised crime. It also recalled the importance that North Macedonia provides clear statistics, through the relevant e-platform for data collection on the track record. The Commission also retrieved commitment from the authorities to facilitate soon the deployment of a new case-based peer review.
On the **cooperation in the field of drugs**, the Commission invited North Macedonia to make further progress in aligning with the EU acquis and to focus on the operationalisation of established structures, notably the Interministerial Commission for Narcotic and the National Drugs Observatory. On the **prevention and countering of terrorism**, The Commission welcomed the progress made on the implementation of the Joint Action Plan on counter terrorism for the Western Balkans.
On **migration and border management**, the Commission welcomed the progress made in implementing the EU Action Plan on the Western Balkans. The Commission recalled the need to make progress on the effective management of legal and irregular migration, but also in tackling migrant smuggling. The Commission noted an overall good cooperation with EU Member States on return and readmissions.