Media freedom, independence, and pluralism are fundamental pillars of European democracies. Freedom of speech and journalists' safety is crucial for countries such as Albania and Serbia that aspire to join the EU. Thanks to the cooperation with two local partners, this project intends to contribute to creating a network of Balkan, Italian, and European actors engaged in effective advocacy to protect media freedom in the EU and the two countries involved in the integration process.

Various indices and monitoring tools on media freedom in the Balkan region point to a worrying situation, characterized by increasing control exercised by power groups promoting anti-European agendas, fragile media independence due to difficulties in accessing public/private funds, episodes of political interference, and violence against journalists.
Through the exchange of experiences and cooperation in advocacy work, OBCT and its two partners - the Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (IJAS) and the Centre Science and Innovation for Development (SCiDEV) in Albania - will elaborate two shadow report on the accession negotiations concerning the media sector in the two candidate countries, to strengthen the involvement of civil society in the EU accession process focusing on the nexus between media and democracy.

This project is carried out with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation under Article 23ter paragraph 2 of the Presidential Decree 18/67. All opinions expressed within the scope of this project represent the opinion of their author and not those of the Ministry.