The Association of Journalists of Kosovo is monitoring the reactions following the recent approval of the Law on the Independent Media Commission, by the parliamentary majority in the Assembly of Kosovo.
Concerns raised by AJK have also been echoed by the Office of the European Union in Kosovo, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, and several foreign diplomatic missions in Kosovo, all noting that the law does not align with the standards of the Council of Europe.
AJK has requested that the President of the Republic of Kosovo, Mrs. Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, take a stance on this law and communicate it to the public, rather than solely focusing on her formal duty of enacting laws. The significance of free media and media pluralism in a democratic society is crucial.
The President needs to address any threats to media freedom publicly and collaborate with other decision-making institutions to protect press freedom as a fundamental pillar of a healthy democracy in a country seeking integration into the EU.