Violence and attacks against journalists remain a concern in Council of Europe members, including the Western Balkans. Under the joint European Union and the Council of Europe programme "Horizontal Facility II - action on "Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in North Macedonia (JUFREX)" the 'Implementation guide on the Protection of journalism and safety of journalists and other media actors' has been translated also into Macedonian. 

The guidelines contain specific measures to be taken by states to prevent violations of media freedom – including physical violence against journalists - to effectively protect journalism and journalists, and to prosecute crimes committed against them.

The present implementation guide, based on the 'Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)4 on the Protection of journalism and safety of journalists and other media actors' (ENGLISH - MACEDONIAN) provides member States with concrete responses to the question what can and should be done to protect journalists and other media actors. It does so by including references to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and to other sources while providing information and guidance to states on how to fulfil their obligations, combining legal, administrative and practical measures. To protect journalists, the recommendation stresses that whenever there is a threat to journalists, states should adopt preventive measures, such as police protection or voluntary evacuation to a safe place.

The action ”Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in North Macedonia” is part of the “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey II”, a co-operation initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, that enables the Beneficiaries to meet their reform agendas in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy and to comply with the European standards, including where relevant within the framework of the EU enlargement process