Reporters Without Borders and other organizations: Government to halt media freedom erosion, Vetevendosje weakened certain standards

Reporters Without Borders along with a large number of international organisations that advocate media freedom and journalists have asked the Kosovo Government, led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, to stop further erosion of media freedom, Express writes, broadcasts Periscope

In a joint response, Reporters Without Borders and other organisations recall the fact that there is a decline in media freedom in Kosovo due to political pressure on public media, legislative disturbing developments and verbal attacks on journalists by politicians.

“Reporters without Borders (RSF) and its partners have called on Kosovo's prime minister to create a working group to address the issues of press freedom and prepare for implementation of the European Media Freedom Agreement (EMFA), while the country seeks membership in the European Union (BE)”, point the response.

In response it is said that although Kosovo has diverse media landscapes and low levels of physical violence, some standards have been weakened by the Vetevendosje Movement as the ruling party.

After meetings with dozens of journalists and media in Kosovo on 24 March, the Council of Europe's Association of Security of Journalists including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) discussed the state of press freedom with Prime Minister Albin Kurti and his advisers. While Kosovo has a varied media landscape, a low level of physical violence against journalists, and a legal framework generally in line with European and international standards, some standards have been weakened by the ruling party, Vetevendosje”, it says in response.

“We need a strong government signal in support of a free, independent and diverse media landscape. Establishing a dedicated working group consisting of interested local parties and relying on better international practices would be a first step. The European Rule for Media Freedom (EMFA), which Kosovo will have to implement as a candidate state for the EU, addresses the country's main problems: lack of independence for public broadcaster, poor protections for journalistic resources and insufficient transparency regarding ownership and media financing. This is a call for immediate action.”, RFE's Pavol Salzai has declared.