On 7 June, the Albanian Media Council launched its recently founded Complains’ Board in a gathering of journalists, media organizations, legislators, media regulatory agencies, commissioners, and international partners active in media development in Albania. Deputy Speaker Vasilika Hysi, Head of European Union Delegation Romana Vlahutin and Head of the Council of Europe Office in Tirana Claus Neukirch were among the speakers addressing the event.

The Head of Office welcomed this important step forward Albanian media professionals have taken toward a more ethical standard of journalism by choosing self-regulation as a way for media to meet its responsibilities and maintain public trust. He added that Albanian journalists understand the importance of self-regulation in the media and they support the idea that the use of the freedom of the media should be guided by the principles of truthfulness, accuracy and accountability.

Invited speakers encouraged editors, publishers, and news bloggers to co-operate with the Media Council and realize the usefulness of a self-regulating mechanism in their profession.

The Albanian Media Council will fulfill a mission of providing the public with a useful and independent forum for resolving complaints involving newspapers, magazines, websites and other digital media, giving priority to freedom of expression and public interest. They also see their role as a body proactively promoting media freedom and the highest professional standards through round table discussions and training activities for journalists.

Support for this event was made possible through the join program of European Union/Council of Europe “Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and the Media in South-East Europe (JUFREX).

This event was implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union and the Council of Europe. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.