Skopje, 7 November 2025 (MIA) - 360 Degrees journalists Aleksandar Dimitrievski and Mihail Miloshevski won late Thursday the first prize within the European Union Investigative Journalism Awards 2025 in North Macedonia for their story "Searching for Julija".

"Stolen Lives" of Investigative Reporting Lab (IRL) journalists Aleksandra Denkovska, Sashka Cvetkovska, Bojan Stojanovski, Aleksandar Janev, Trifun Sitnikovski and David Ilievski received the second prize, while Kod journalists Srgjan Stojanchov and Snezhana Lupevska-Sozen won the third award for their story "Dossier Krmzov - epic crime or attempt to seize his business".

The top gong recipients will get EUR 5,000, the second prize is worth EUR 3,000, while the third EUR 2,000. Over 200 stories from 120 media outlets applied for the award.

"Searching for Julija" focuses on the falsified English language certificate of National Security Agency (NSA) director Bojan Hristovski issued by the Bulgaria-based "Julija" language center.

EU Ambassador Michalis Rokas told the award-presentation ceremony this is a remarkable feat by media outlets and journalists in a time of free fall of values and support for media freedom.

"These events validate the courage of journalists who protect public interest. These stories are important amid a time of bots and fake news. It is not easy to protect the truth. We have highlighted many aspects in the Progress Report, including that the country is making positive steps towards strengthening the financial independence of media and protection of journalists. It is possible to achieve results when the authorities, the media and the civil society work together," said Rokas.

The Independent Trade Union of Journalists and Media Workers (ССНМ), Thomson Media and the EU Delegation to North Macedonia organized the event.

The EU Investigative Journalism Award in the Western Balkans and Türkiye was established by the EU in 2015 and implemented by local partners, with an aim to celebrate and promote the outstanding achievements of investigative journalists as well as improve the visibility of quality journalism in the Western Balkans and Türkiye. Investigative stories published from January 1 to December 31, 2024, and related to freedom of expression, rule of law, transparency, abuse of power and fundamental rights, corruption and organised crime were eligible for the award.

Photo: SSNM