Speak Up! Conference: Take a hard look in the mirror

The Speak Up Conference 'Freedom of expression and media in the Western Balkans and Turkey', organised by DG Enlargement on Friday May 6th, was an impressive conference. Impressive in the number of people who participated, impressive in the seriousness with which the topic was approached and impressive because of the dark picture it presented of media freedom, not only in the Western Balkans and in Turkey but also in EU member states.

Being part of the Communications Subcommittee, the subject of this conference was of course close to my heart. Although we have all heard about the difficulties that journalists can face in their work, the conference did not simply reduce this fact to meaningless words and judgement. Instead it was shown via an impressive video by Veran Matić, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editor-in-Chief of B92 in Belgrade; it was felt through the story of a 61-year-old Turkish journalist who might soon be going to prison for 10 years, like 56 other journalists currently imprisoned in Turkey; and it was made very clear through the strong language used by the various knowledgeable speakers.

Enlargement Commissioner Štefan Füle commented in his speech: ''In the Western Balkans and Turkey, freedom of expression and the media are under threat. Too often, journalists have either been murdered or violently attacked." The Commissioner added: ''The European Commission will accept no deviation on the part of candidate countries from European Union standards on freedom of expression and the media.''

Political interference, economic pressure and violence were mentioned as the main impediments to the work of (investigative) journalists. However, the European Commission was also confronted with critical remarks about the poor performance of some member states (notably Italy and Hungary) and about the lack of a coherent and clear message to governments of the Western Balkan states and Turkey.

Sašo Ordanoski, journalist and consultant on media issues from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, stated: “Politicians in the Western Balkans don't react if they are criticised behind closed doors in a diplomatic way.” In other words, the European Commission was asked to Speak up! The conference concluded with proposals for follow-up activities that will be sent to the Prime Ministers of the countries involved.

After the conference there was time to relax and sip champagne, and freedom of expression was exercised thoroughly. Kim, one of the DG Enlargement stagiaires working on organising the conference, said contentedly: "All the hard work was really worth it, the Conference was a big success." Again our glasses were filled with champagne and before we knew it one of the stagiaires was almost to be married to the son of one of the Turkish journalists. In the end all turned out well and I am happy to be able to speak freely and report back to you about this conference!

Michelle Heuer,

DG ELARG