Today, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government responsible for European affairs, Dr. Fatmir Besimi, is on a work visit in Brussels whereby he addressed at the Conference on Freedom of Expression and Media in the Western Balkans and Turkey: Progress and ongoing issues.

The conference is dedicated to one of the main priorities and essential challenges of each country, and that is freedom of expression and the media, which is one of the key elements of every democratic and pluralistic state. The commitment of the countries of the enlargement process to ensure this right is essential for the progress in the accession process.

In his speech, the Deputy Prime Minister Besimi referred to the progress of the Republic of Macedonian in implementing the activities of the European agenda. In this regard, Besimi noted that the Accession dialogue enabled new dynamics in the implementation of reforms in five key areas and that the progress was duly noted in the Spring Report of the European Commission.

Additionally, the Deputy Prime Minister referred to the activities undertaken to address one of the key priorities of the High Level Accession Dialogue, freedom of expression and media. In this context, Besimi emphasised the adoption of the Law on Civil Liability for Defamation, as well as the preparation of Draft-Law on Media and Audiovisual Media Services, that is in progress. Also, he stressed that these processes are carried out in a transparent and inclusive manner through dialogue with representatives of the media and their active contribution to the preparation of legal solutions, which is particularly important.

"We continue to remain committed to fulfilment of the obligations undertaken in the EU integration process, especially in the area of freedom of expression and media. We will continue to put maximum efforts to promote dialogue with journalists and the media in order to achieve the European standards and to respect the constitutional provisions for guaranteeing freedom of expression,” said Besimi.
The conference was attended by about 450 participants from international, regional and national organisations in the area of freedom of expression, as well as by journalists, media analysts and decision makers from countries that are part of the enlargement process, in order to discuss the achievements, ongoing issues and activities in the future.