WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
The report on North Macedonia in the European Parliament, adopted today, expresses concern about the role of the Hungarian and Serbian governments in advancing the goals of Russia and China in that country, as well as about the "Serbian World" project.
The document expresses concern about the so-called Serbian World project, as well as the fact that some representatives of the North Macedonian government have advocated and promoted this concept, and condemns participation in meetings at which attempts are made to establish a sphere of influence by undermining the sovereignty of other countries and stability in the region.
It is recalled that the 2023 analysis showed that actors associated with the Russian government used Serbian media intermediaries to spread narratives hostile to NATO and claims that the EU is pressuring Skopje to "give up its identity".
It is alleged that North Macedonia remains the target of foreign malign influence operations, including efforts to break the country's social fabric and use anti-EU sentiment as a weapon, particularly through tabloids and Serbian-language media outlets that function as regional promoters of the Kremlin's narrative and wield significant influence.
It is recalled that between 2018 and 2023, North Macedonia expelled 13 Russian diplomats for activities incompatible with their diplomatic status, indicating the continued presence of covert networks of influence.
It is further alleged that China has sought to expand its influence in North Macedonia through information control, investment diplomacy, and "coercive clauses" in infrastructure loan agreements.
It is also noted that some Chinese diplomatic entities have funded paid content and authored texts in Macedonian media without clear labeling.
The report expressed serious concerns that North Macedonia and other Western Balkan countries on their path to the EU are particularly hard hit by foreign interference and disinformation campaigns, including hybrid threats, strategic corruption, murky financial flows and coercive investment practices, in particular from Russia and China.
They also expressed concern about the roles of the Hungarian and Serbian governments in furthering Russian and Chinese geopolitical goals.
In this context, it points to the risk of dependence on China caused by asymmetric loan agreements, such as the recent loan by the Hungarian Eximbank that appears to originate from China.
Finally, it calls for the opening of the archives of the Yugoslav secret services UDBA and KOS, which are kept in both Serbia and North Macedonia, and stresses the need to open these archives across the region in order to transparently address the totalitarian past with the aim of strengthening democracy, accountability and institutions in the Western Balkans.
