Skopje, 12 December 2023 (MIA) - Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Kilian Wahl, visited on Tuesday the Media Information Agency (MIA), for a meeting with the Agency's director, Dragan Antonovski. 

Antonovski and Wahl discussed current cooperation between the MIA and the OSCE Mission, as well as possibilities to deepen it in the future, stressing the need to pass a special law on MIA which will ensure sustainability, financial stability and long-term functionality in the Agency's work.

Ambassador Wahl highlighted the importance of MIA as a relevant source of accurate and fact-checked information, which, in addition to other media, the embassies in the country, including the OSCE Mission, rely on.

He noted that a roundtable was organized in April with the support of the OSCE Mission, focusing on solutions for promoting the independence and sustainability of the MIA. Domestic and foreign experts and representatives of relevant institutions took part in the debate, which set out recommendations to better position the Agency in the media landscape and guarantee its financial stability and independence. The recommendations were forwarded to the Government. 

Antonovski pointed out that it is necessary to define the role of the Agency with a special law to ensure it has a fixed budget, which would no longer be changed in the middle of the year by a government decision.

Participants in the meeting also discussed possibilities for regional cooperation of the Agency with other media in the region, with the support of the OSCE Mission. In addition, talks tackled possibilities to promote the multimedia expression of MIA's media products, keeping tabs on the latest media trends and interests of the different generations of the public. 

The Media Information Agency (MIA) and the OSCE Mission to Skopje signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March, aimed at strengthening independent journalism by initiating the process of drafting a special law on MIA, which would define the agency's role in North Macedonia’s media landscape. The Memorandum was signed by the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, Kilian Wahl, and MIA director Dragan Antonovski. The Mission’s support is aimed at strengthening MIA’s capacities by improving its functional independence and ensuring that it is sufficiently resourced, so that the citizens of North Macedonia continue to receive accurate and fact-checked news. 

Photo: MIA