Promoting EU Standards of Media Freedom, Democracy and Self-regulation in Albania

ongoing

Albania, as an EU candidate country, has made some progress in aligning its media laws and regulations with the “acquis”. However, challenges remain, particularly in the areas of media freedom, pluralism, and self-regulation. While the media can play a pivotal role for the functioning and the stability of the democracy, formal regulation has not been proved sufficient if it is not the only means to achieving professional standards, in coherence with the EU directives regarding not only audio-visual broadcasting, but also online media. This project’s focus is on the state of media self-regulation in Albania in line with the European perspective of the country. Despite a few initiatives, there is a lack of functional dialogue in this crucial issue between scholars, media actors, civil society, and state regulators, especially from within a strategic, well-researched and authoritative approach. This proposed JM Chair project will therefore contribute to the promotion of EU shared values of open dialogue and media freedom, with the university taking an active role in relation to diverse public such as media players and civil society actors, state regulators and policymakers. The main objectives are: 1. To introduce and establish European Union Studies in the cross-curricula of the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Liberal Arts, as well as the Faculty of Law, Political Science, and International Relations, to set a cross-cutting model at UET and expand EU Studies. 2. To research and assess the effectiveness of EU integration policies related to the promotion of its core values for media and democracy in WB and Albania to prepare academic studies that have the potential to inform policy-making towards EU membership accession goals. 3. To promote European Union policy recommendations with target media players, state regulators and civil society to foster public dialogue among Albanian Stakeholders, EU Representatives, and the public.