On 23 September 2026, Hannes Astok, Executive Director of eGA, held talks with Stefan Andonovski, Minister of Digital Transformation of North Macedonia, in Skopje. The discussion centred on strengthening existing ties around cybersecurity while exploring ways to broaden the partnership across digital transformation more widely.
The encounter preceded the Cyber Balkans 2 kick-off conference scheduled for 24 September in the same city. Discussions emphasised sustained collaboration under the EU-financed initiative alongside North Macedonia's wider digitalisation strategy.
Digital transformation and cybersecurity must advance together if we want to build public services that are efficient, secure and trusted by citizens. Our cooperation with the eGA has already brought valuable expertise and practical experience to North Macedonia. Cyber Balkans II gives us an opportunity to build on this partnership, while also exploring how Estonia's experience can support our broader digital transformation priorities.
Stefan Andonovski, Minister of Digital Transformation of North Macedonia
Building on cooperation through Cyber Balkans 2
The Cyber Balkans 2 initiative encompasses six participating nations: North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. Its objectives include bolstering cyber resilience across the region, advancing alignment with EU cybersecurity frameworks, and fostering deeper collaborative ties among participating states.
This new undertaking extends work begun under the original Cyber Balkans project, representing continued European Union backing for cybersecurity capacity-building throughout the Western Balkans.
North Macedonia has been an important partner for eGA, particularly in strengthening cybersecurity capacity, and we see strong potential to take this cooperation further. Cybersecurity is an essential part of digital transformation, but eGA's experience extends across the wider digital government ecosystem – from interoperability and digital identity to data governance and citizen-centred public services. We look forward to continuing our cooperation and identifying areas where eGA's experience can support North Macedonia's digital development.
Hannes Astok, Executive Director of eGA
Beyond cybersecurity matters, the Skopje meeting examined North Macedonia's comprehensive digital transformation roadmap and potential avenues for deepening the partnership.
eGA outlined its track record assisting governments globally across multiple domains: digital government modernisation, interoperability frameworks, digital identity systems, data governance structures and user-focused digital public services.
The discussions reinforced the partnership between eGA and North Macedonia's digital ministry while identifying prospective areas for expanding their collaboration.
Over recent years, eGA has bolstered North Macedonia's cybersecurity infrastructure with EU financial support. This assistance encompassed the initial Cyber Balkans project, which promoted enhanced cybersecurity governance, cross-border cooperation, crisis readiness and workforce development across the Western Balkans region.
North Macedonia has additionally benefited from two iterations of the EU-backed Cybersecurity Rapid Response for Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia initiative. These programmes concentrated on enhancing cyber resilience, technical and operational readiness for managing cyber crises, reducing risk exposure and managing security incidents.
