Building resilience together: EU study visits strengthen North Macedonia’s response to disinformation

These were some of the questions that brought a delegation of journalists, editors, fact-checkers, media experts and institutional representatives from North Macedonia to Stockholm for a study visit organised by the Delegation of the European Union and the Macedonian Institute for Media (MIM) under the project “Building Synergies Against Disinformation, Including on EU Policies and Actions”. The project was initiated in response to growing concerns over disinformation and malign information influence in the country. 

Participants had the opportunity to see first-hand how Sweden approaches the protection of democratic processes, counters disinformation and foreign interference, and strengthens society’s resilience to information manipulation. 

They met representatives of the Swedish Agency for Psychological Defence, International IDEA, the Swedish Institute, the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag). Discussions focused on election integrity, strategic communication, media and information literacy, public diplomacy, and mechanisms for detecting and responding to disinformation and foreign information manipulation. The visit also opened opportunities for networking and future cooperation between experts from North Macedonia and Sweden.

Stockholm was the latest chapter in a much longer journey. Between 2022 and 2026, five other study visits were organised under the same project - to Brussels, Vienna and Warsaw. 

Each destination offered a different piece of the picture.

During the three visits to Brussels, participants discussed with representatives of the EEAS, the European Parliament and the European Commission, the EU policies on disinformation, FIMI, media freedom, digital services, democratic governance and enlargement.

In Vienna, the focus shifted to the role of international organisations and media institutions in safeguarding media freedom and responding to information threats through meetings with the OSCE, the International Press Institute, diplomatic missions and Austria’s public broadcaster ORF.

Warsaw offered another perspective. There, participants learned from Poland’s experience in strengthening media resilience and countering foreign information influence through exchanges with policy experts, researchers, think tanks and media professionals.

The value of the programme, however, goes beyond the individual visits. Over four years, it has helped create a network of professionals committed to fact-based public discourse and democratic values. Participants have returned with new contacts, practical knowledge and a better understanding of the different models the EU has developed to respond to information threats.

The study programme has therefore not only strengthened the capacity of key actors in North Macedonia to understand and respond to disinformation and FIMI. It has also created partnerships and connections that can continue well beyond the project itself.

And the journey does not end in Stockholm.

The EU Delegation will continue bringing the best EU models and existing institutional responses from EU Member States to North Macedonia in order to strengthen the country’s capacities in the fight against FIMI and support its EU integration.