Public hearing held on draft Open Data Law

The Ministry of Digital Transformation, in cooperation with the Metamorphosis Foundation, organized a public hearing on the text of the Draft Law on Open Data and Reuse of Public Sector Data on January 28, 2026, at the Inox Innovation Center. The public hearing was attended by the Minister of Digital Transformation, Stefan Andonovski, representatives of the Metamorphosis Foundation, representatives of the Ministry, civil society organizations and associations, higher education institutions, state institutions and private companies.The text of the draft law was presented at the public hearing and is aligned with European Directive 2019/1024. It should establish the rules and methods for accessing open data and set clear protocols for state institutions regarding which data they should publish and make available to the public.

According to Dance Danilovska-Bajdevska, Program Director of the Metamorphosis Foundation, open data is the fuel of the future, and the concept is based on the principle of open access and serving the public good by empowering citizens, improving the business environment and encouraging informed social and economic development.

“In this country, this systemic concept began to be addressed in 2011; in 2014, the Law on the Use of Public Sector Data was adopted, and Metamorphosis has been involved in this important process from the very beginning. We have already submitted our comments on the text of the draft law,” said Danilovska-Bajdevska.The Minister of Digital Transformation, Stefan Andonovski, stressed that the law is of great importance, as it will help institutions share data, identify information that is important for non-governmental organizations and citizens, and ensure that such information is shared with the public.
The draft Law on Open Data and Reuse of Public Sector Data, which transposes Directive 2019/1024 of the European Union, is the sixth law to be harmonized in Chapter 10. 

The speakers at the public hearing pointed out that the goal of the law is to foster innovation and new applications and services, improve data quality, and support the development of the economy, competitiveness, and the information society. The scope of institutions that, under the law, should open their data is broad and includes public enterprises. The categories of data that should be open include geospatial, environmental, meteorological, statistical, and transport data. As part of the process, the Open Data Portal, data.gov.mk, was redesigned, and in cooperation with Makedonski Telekom, the Ministry developed a chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to help citizens and all interested parties more easily access the data on the portal. The guests at the public hearing shared their experiences with the use of open data and provided comments to improve the draft law. They requested that institutions have deadlines for publishing open data and that there be accountability if the data provided is inaccurate or not updated in a timely manner.