What is the goal?

  • To promote freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Albania in line with Council of Europe standards. The Action will have a particular focus on the Judiciary: raising awareness of media actors' rights, duties and responsibilities according to European standards on freedom of expression and freedom of speech;
  • The Action aims to reinforce capacities and independence of the Media Regulatory Authority resulting in a safer and more pluralistic media environment where related actors are more aware of their ethical boundaries.

Who benefits from the project?

  • National training institutions for legal professionals,
  • School of Magistrates and Bar Association,
  • Albanian Audio-visual Media Authority (AMA), Albanian Media Council, ResPublica, Faculties of Law and Journalism, Association of Journalists, judges, prosecutors, police officers, lawyers, journalists, other media actors, students and the society.

How will the project work?

  • The current action builds upon the results achieved during a previous regional EU/CoE Joint Programme “Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and the Media in South-East Europe” (JUFREX) – 2016-2019.
  • The Action is structured upon three components addressing specific target groups: (i) Judiciary, legal professionals and law enforcement; (ii) Media Regulatory Authorities; (iii) Journalists, other media actors and students.
  • It uses an inclusive approach in order to generate dialog between the different actors and relevant stakeholders. The capacity building activities for the various professional categories adopt a dynamic methodology for adult learning and peer-to-peer model and the strong interconnection between regional and national Actions ensures strengthened cooperation and exchange of good practices and lessons learnt.

What do we expect to achieve?

  • Members of the judiciary, legal professionals and police officers improve application of European standards on Freedom of Expression.
  • Media Regulatory authority's professional capacities are further strengthened. The media community has greater confidence in the media regulatory authority (AMA) in terms of safeguarding freedom of media while maintaining independence and impartiality.
  • Media actors, parliamentarians and relevant stakeholders, including Universities, contribute to an enabling environment for freedom of expression and freedom of the media.

How much will it cost?

  • The total budget of the Action is 415,000 Euros.
  • The budget allocated to the overall Horizontal Facility programme amounts to ca. 41 Million EUR (85% funded by the European Union, 15% by the Council of Europe).

How to get more information?

About Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey

The “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022” is a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe that enables the Beneficiaries to meet their reform agendas in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy and to comply with the European standards, including where relevant within the framework of the EU enlargement process. This three-year programme covers actions in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, as well as Kosovo* and it is implemented by the Council of Europe from May 2019.

 

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

 

This webpage has been produced using funds of a joint project between 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.

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Erkanda BUJARI
Senior Project Office
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