The proposed legislation comes against the backdrop of a climate of increased threats, verbal and physical attacks against journalists and an overall deterioration of press freedom in the country.

Despite the criticism and a few cosmetic changes, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has soldiered on, threatening to punish the kind of online media outlet that he routinely attacks as being ‘kazan’ – a Turkish word that translates as ‘trash-bin’.

Rama has claimed in parliament that the legislation he is proposing has been reviewed and agreed by the Office for Media Freedom of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE.

Although the OSCE appears to have provided legal opinion on the proposed media draft laws, it’s unclear if its recommendations have been reflected by the Albanian government in the proposed bills. BIRN has also learned that the European Commission has given its opinion on the proposed legislation; however, Brussels’ take on the proposed regulations have not been publicly articulated.

Rama and his cronies claim that online media in Albania have become a breeding ground for fake news; however, there is little evidence to support such a claim. Domestic media outlets are plagued by protocol news, spin and disinformation campaigns produced in-house by the government and political parties and disseminated mainly through television stations whose owners are mainly oligarchs tied to heavily-regulated industries and align their media’s editorial line with their political and economic interests.

There is little evidence that the government intends to rein in such publicly-funded propaganda, spin and disinformation campaigns, and it’s notable that the new proposed media bills will not sanction reports that ‘truthfully’ cite open sessions of parliament and those of other government institutions.

No country in Europe, outside Vladimir Putin’s Russia, uses administrative bodies to regulate the content of online media outlets and imposes similarly draconian fines. Moscow is not well known for its credentials on media freedom and it’s certainly not a candidate country banging on Brussels’s door for EU membership, as Albania is.

If the Albanian government is serious with its bid to open accession negotiations with the EU this autumn, it should desist in its attempts to approve legislation that curbs media freedom and freedom of expression.

Similarly, if Brussels remains committed to extend the rights and freedoms that are central to the EU to the Western Balkans, it must not turn a blind eye to such poorly-drafted legislation and the overall deterioration of media freedom in the region.

Besar Likmeta is an editor for BIRN Albania. The opinions expressed in the comments section are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of BIRN.