To contribute to the European Commission’s Rule of Law monitoring, OBC Transeuropa, in partnership with SCiDEV and IJAS, produced two Shadow Reports outlining the challenges and gaps in media freedom in Albania and Serbia. The main findings were presented during a webinar

The Shadow Reports on media freedom in Albania and Serbia jointly prepared by OBCT and partner organisations SCiDEV and IJAS suggest that significant challenges related to media freedom persist in both countries, particularly in combating disinformation, safeguarding journalistic independence, and addressing media ownership concentration.

The key findings of the Shadow Reports were presented in a webinar held on October 7, during which experts discussed issues such as attacks on journalists, transparency of media ownership, and the criminalization of defamation.

As Cristina Caputo, Deputy Director of the Adriatic and Balkan Unit at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, emphasised, “media freedom and pluralism face common challenges in both EU member states and candidate countries.” This highlights the need for transnational collaboration to enable cross-border monitoring and coordinated responses.

As one of the EU fundamental values, media freedom is a crucial element of the EU accession process. As Maja Smrkolj from the DG NEAR of the European Commission explained, freedom of expression and media freedom, which are addressed in Chapter 23 of the EU acquis communautaire on the judiciary and fundamental rights, “are key indicators for candidate countries’ readiness to become part of the EU”. This year, to support candidate countries’ reform efforts, the European Commission decided to include some enlargement countries in the 2024 Rule of Law Report, which encompasses a dedicated chapter on media freedom and pluralism. In addition, the European Commission’s enlargement package that should be published in the coming weeks “will dedicate particular attention to monitoring the state of media freedom and pluralism”.

As reported by Ms Smrkolj, the EU has been quite supportive of media sectors in candidates also in financial and technical terms “providing grants to media and media organisations and promoting innovative media initiatives through the Civil Society Facility and media programme”.

Media freedom is also central to the reform agendas developed by the two countries under the new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, whose payments are based on a strong conditionality that “should provide additional incentives for countries to deliver on these topics”. Both Albania and Serbia included issues related to media freedom in the reform agendas: for Ms Smrkolj this is a sign that indicates their commitment to improving the situation in this area.