During a regional panel on strengthening democratic resilience amid a European security crisis, Minister of Defense Slavjanka Petrovska said global challenges were mutually related and required a coordinated response, news agency MIA writes.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the panel gathered security experts and decision-makers to discuss how governments, civil society, and the media could deal with “the authoritarian tendencies” in the current geopolitical and economic circumstances. Minister Petrovska said the international security situation was more complex than ever.
“Security threats are not conventional but combined with hybrid tools and methods, such as spreading disinformation, cyber attacks and economic pressures that aim to destabilize and undermine societies and governments,” she said.
Speaking about Southeast Europe, Petrovska said hybrid activities and influences could slow down European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the region. She then highlighted the importance of fighting these threats and building resilient societies.
“We need stronger coordination between civilian and military capacities as well as cooperation with allies and partners,” Petrovska said, stressing that joint mechanisms needed to be developed for dealing with security threats.
She also mentioned the need to create a legal framework to regulate cyber threats and hybrid warfare, which, she said, was high on North Macedonia’s agenda, given that the state had adopted a strategy to build resilience and deal with hybrid threats last October.
“Our approach is to tackle challenges openly and transparently, so our citizens can be informed and aware of our policies and efforts to ensure stability and prosperity,” the defense minister said.
The panel was organized by the Euro-Atlantic Council of North Macedonia and the Sofia Center for the Study of Democracy in cooperation with the US National Endowment for Democracy think tank.
