Assembly decision on draft law on digital broadcasting welcomed by OSCE, EC and CoE offices in Albania

TIRANA, 19 May 2005 - The OSCE Presence, the Delegation of the European Commission and the Council of Europe Office in Albania have all welcomed today's decision of the Assembly not to pass the draft law on the introduction of digital broadcasting in Albania.

The draft law was found to be problematic as it failed to meet specific recommendations made earlier by the OSCE and the Council of Europe (CoE). The European Commission (EC) had also noted that the draft was not in conformity with several aspects of European Union (EU) legislation in this sector. The Assembly was made aware of these problems in a joint opinion endorsed by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, the OSCE Presence, the EC Delegation, the CoE Office in Albania, and the European Radiocommunications Office, forwarded on 13 May.

The OSCE Presence, the EC Delegation and the CoE Office express their hope that the new Albanian Assembly and other concerned Albanian institutions will have an opportunity to consider new legislation in this field, to bring it into compliance with international standards and, more specifically, with the legislation of the EU, drawing on international expert support already provided.