TIRANA, June 19 – The Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Public Information held a hearing with Pavol Szalai, representative of Reporter Without Borders, on the media situation in Albania.
Meanwhile, Szalai leads the organization’s Central Europe office, which covers Albania and other Western Balkan countries. He said his visit followed a public exchange on social media platform X between Prime Minister Edi Rama and Reporter Without Borders regarding Albania’s drop of three places in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index. He added that social media does not support dialogue and said he came to speak directly to lawmakers.
In addition, Szalai said the global press freedom index now shows the lowest levels of media freedom since the index began 26 years ago. He also said trust between journalists and the government in Albania is improving. He added that European Union and Council of Europe institutions support dialogue, while Albanian actors manage the process locally. He urged protection of this trust. At the same time, he said partial decriminalisation of defamation law creates enforcement difficulties and weakens progress. He also called for bipartisan consensus on media-related legislation.
However, Szalai said political attacks on journalism reduce public trust. He urged Albania not to rush legislation for European Union integration at the expense of quality. He also said media ownership transparency has improved through parliamentary work. In addition, he called for stronger measures on journalist safety and consistent reform progress.
Earlier, committee chair Iris Luarasi said Albania ranks “satisfactory” in the report but noted a three-point decline. She also raised concerns about methodology and media ownership transparency. Meanwhile, deputy chair Jorida Tabaku said media freedom remains central to democracy and Albania’s European Union integration process, under Chapter 23.
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