North Macedonia government proposes repealing security intelligence coordination law

The Government of North Macedonia has proposed the repeal of the Law on Coordination of the Security and Intelligence Community. The proposal, approved by the government on October 13, 2026, aims to abolish the existing legal framework that regulates coordination between the National Security Agency (ANB), the Intelligence Agency (AR), and military intelligence.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated in its justification that while the current law is conceptually aligned with EU and NATO standards, its practical implementation is limited by institutional mistrust, a narrow scope, and a lack of operational capacity. The proposal consists of two articles: one to terminate the existing law and another to enact a new law eight days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) has criticized the move, labeling it a reversal of previous reforms intended to prevent the politicization of security services. The opposition argues that the repeal is a step toward consolidating partisan control over intelligence agencies and may be a precursor to merging the ANB and the Intelligence Agency. SDSM has called for the withdrawal of the proposal and the opening of a public, expert, and parliamentary debate.