EU calls for "comprehensive reforms" for the media in Albania

News of the opening of negotiation chapters has been much-hyped by the government in recent months, under the promise of Albania's rapid integration into the European Union, but an unofficial document from the secretariat of the Council of the European Union, the institution that makes decisions regarding the negotiation and membership process, emphasizes that the country needs significant reforms in a number of issues considered "fundamental", including the functioning of the rule of law and human rights.

The fight against corruption or organized crime are often-discussed topics, but a less-discussed topic that is part of the "fundamental" issues is the media, where the first document from BIRN emphasizes that "comprehensive reform is expected from Albania."

The issue of the media is also expected to take on particular importance in the negotiations following the publication later this year of the OSCE/ODIHR final report on the 2025 elections, where the novelty seems to lie in the firm conclusion that the media in Albania is biased and under deep government influence.

“Regarding freedom of expression and media freedom, Albania is still expected to adopt a comprehensive reform of the legal and regulatory framework,” the Council of the European Union document states, “in particular to strengthen the independence and efficiency of the Audiovisual Media Authority and the independence of the public broadcaster, which remain issues of concern,” the document adds.

The reforms requested by the EU are comprehensive. Initially, legal changes are required “to address the concern of high concentration in the media market,” an issue that the government has so far not expressed the political will to address.

Currently in Albania, the two main television stations, Klan and Top Channel, control 64% of the market by revenue, while the four big television stations, namely Klan, Top Channel, Media Vizion and A2 CNN, control 79.1% of the market. The EU document does not go into detail to explain what concrete changes could be undertaken to reduce the degree of concentration in the media, but calls for changes “to reinforce editorial independence”, to “strengthen the transparency of media financing and ownership” and to “establish rules for the allocation of state advertising and other state resources”.

Especially on the last point, the current government operates on the basis of some rules approved by the “Berisha” government in 2008, which allow public institutions to advertise without having to compete or be transparent about how much advertising they advertise and for what reasons. This often means that citizens see on television materials that are presented as news or shows, while in fact they are propaganda paid for by taxpayers’ money.

Another requested legal change is the “decriminalization of defamation,” a measure that normally does not require much effort on the part of the government other than initiating a process to remove defamation and insult from the Criminal Code. Although the decriminalization of defamation and insult is a long-standing demand of the European Union and a repeated recommendation of OSCE/ODIHR election reports, the current government has not expressed the political will to undertake this change.

The EU insists that any changes regarding the media will have to be carried out through a broad consultation process with local stakeholders but also with the Venice Commission.

“The executive should be ensured strong participation and engagement in the process,” the report says. “Legal amendments tend to be shared with the Venice Commission before adoption.”

The leaked European Union Council informal document also raised concerns about the government's attacks on the justice system following the arrest of Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj, while appearing to pour cold water on expectations for rapid integration by stressing that, despite the opening of chapters for accession negotiations, "progress in the 'Fundamental' group of issues will determine the overall pace of the negotiations."

"As foreseen in the Negotiating Framework, no chapter can be closed before Albania achieves this objective," the document states. Reporter.al