Harmonization of state legislation with EU legislation – the case of the so-called anti-defamation media law in Albania

Abstract

Albania is a European country that has been involved in the long process of EU accession since the fall of the communist regime at the beginning of the 90s’, but is yet to meet a number of requirements to join the European Union. One of the policies that is being scrutinized and going through the EU adaptation framework is the media policy. This article adopts a single case study approach, specifically the most debated media law package in Albania in the last three decades, the so-called anti-defamation media law. The focus of my research analyses concerns the role of the stakeholders involved in the process for the alignment of the media legislation in Albania with the EU regulations. To that end, I have used the expert interviews method, with experts who have been engaged and set out recommendations in this long process which has not finished yet. The research gives a general overview of the interactions of the stakeholders involved in this process, such as national and international journalists and human rights NGOs; international institutions which operate in Albania and have been quite active in this debate, and independent journalists. Another crucial part of my research is investigating through policy analysis methods how the stakeholder’s input has been incorporated into this complicated policymaking process or most of the time totally ignored by the decision-making institutions such as the Albanian government and parliament.