Government ministers discuss media reforms, EU reforms, IPA funding

Deputy Prime Ministers Arber Ademi and Nikola Poposki, who also hold the departments of EU and Foreign Affairs, met with Information Society and Public Administration Minister Marta Arsovska Tomovska, on European Union accession issues.

Main topic of discussion were the proposed changes to the law regulating funding of public media campaigns, an issue that was long raised by the opposition SDSM party. The proposal will introduce a formula to distribute future campaigns for raising awareness and informing the public between media outlets depending on their viewership, and cut back on the media receiving sponsorships or other forms of public funding.

SDSM is out of Parliament, but as the deadline for closing this Autumn's EU progress report approaches, it is expected that a number of media and judiciary reform laws will be put before Parliament regardless. The proposals are a response to the urgent reform priorities report prepared by an EU appointed expert following the wiretapping affair.

During their meeting, Poposki, Ademi and Arsovska discussed the state of IPA project funding in Macedonia. The European Commission announced a cut in 27 million EUR in IPA funding, that is used to reform public administration and for various infrastructure projects, due to the lack of absorption capacity but also over the delays in reaching agreement in the political crisis.