Advancing freedom of expression and media in line with European standards and values

Promoting freedom of expression and freedom of the media in line with European standards is a necessity for all the Western Balkans Beneficiaries in their efforts to comply with Council of Europe standards and the European Union acquis in the framework of the enlargement process.

In Kosovo* a two-day capacity building activity for the staff of the Independent Media Commission on monitoring municipal electoral campaigns in audiovisual media was organised with the support of the programme. These sessions aimed at equipping the staff of the Monitoring and Analyses and Legal departments in the Independent Media Commission with additional knowledge and information on domestic legal standards in the area of monitoring elections and with tools to carry out their duties and responsibilities.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the first online course for legal professionals on ‘Protection of journalists’, was launched for domestic judges and prosecutors, as part of the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) Platform. The course is helping relevant professionals to get a comprehensive overview of European standards regarding protection of journalists, as well as about domestic case-law, that would contribute to a more successful and consistent application of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights in their daily work.

Another important inter-professional seminar was organised in Sarajevo with journalists in co-operation with the Association of Journalists "BH journalists”, aiming to cover important questions surrounding the balance between the right to privacy and the right to the freedom of expression. Journalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia shared their experiences and recalled the importance of investigative journalism for strengthening of democracy in any society.

In Albania, referring to the number of offline and online threats and attacks on journalists and other media professionals over the years, the programme is aiming to encourage an open debate on how to ensure better safety and protection of journalists in line with European standards. The public discussion on “Safety and protection of journalists: sharing standards and addressing common challenges” held in Tirana gathered prominent journalists, Members of the Parliament, senior representatives of the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, equality bodies and civil society representatives to discuss key challenges concerning the protection of journalists and important safeguards for their work.

In addition in December, recognising the need of the Albanian legal professionals to clarify key questions regarding the extent and limits of freedom of expression online, two workshops entitled, “Freedom of expression online and protection of reputation using ECtHR standards” were organised in Korça. During the two-day workshops, Albanian lawyers, judges and prosecutors, discussed the standards of the European Court of Human Rights referring to the protection of reputation with a focus on the online media.

In Montenegro, in parallel to the support to ongoing media legislative and policy reforms, the Horizontal Facility II programme’s action in the field, strengthened its co-operation with media associations. The seminar with the Association of Professional Journalists entitled “Freedom of expression: relations between media and the judiciary” brought together key journalists, judicial and police representatives responsible for communication with media. The aim of the event was to improve co-operation and the way that important judicial topics are communicated to the general public.

In Serbia, in co-operation with the Council of Europe’s HELP Programme started the implementation of the tutored online courses on “Freedom of expression” and “Protection and safety of journalists” for judges and prosecutors. The online courses aim to support legal professionals but also other relevant professionals in understanding European standards concerning freedom of expression and protection of journalists.

In North Macedonia, with the initiative of programme and in co-operation with the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), an inter-professional webinar with journalists and representatives of the parliament (MP) to discuss the mutual co-operation for greater accountability and transparency of the Assembly of North Macedonia was organised. This event was a follow-up to the latest policy paper, prepared by two experts from the journalism sector, assessing the state-of-play in the co-operation between parliamentarians and journalists.