According to the Albanian Daily News, Albanian lawmakers and media experts gave the finishing touches to a new electronic media law on June 17 and the bill is now being examined by legal and finance experts before being sent to a parliamentary media committee for final consideration.

A round table with lawmakers and experts held in June made some corrections to the draft launched for public debate in May, taking into consideration several remarks by experts of different fields, said Musa Ulqini, chairman of the media committee. The bill will turn the state-run media into public and regulate private electronic media in general.

The committee also included protection for national broadcasters from an invasion of foreign television and radio companies. “The Italians, Greeks or Slavs may amplify their waves or set up media in Albania given their financial possibilities, so, the law as well as the National Council of Radio-Television should be very careful in licensing foreign media in Albania,” said Kico Blushi, a lawmaker and a member of the media committee.

The Socialists in the Albanian Parliament repealed a much-criticized press law last year and approved instead a one-article law ensuring the independence of the press and its protection by law, and the Parliament promised to seriously consider and pass a law on media.

The London-based Institute for War & Peace Reporting, through its electronic Albanian Media Monitor, has said, “The Albanian media landscape has started to change and improve - albeit modestly. Both the electronic and print media have, however, still to the abandon the Albanian tradition of polemic.”

The Albanian Parliament on February 18 had passed a telecommunications law requiring the government to set up a regulatory body that will issue licenses to radio and television stations, both public and private.

Nikolle Lesi, an Independent member of Parliament who is secretary of the parliamentary commission on the media, criticized the law. “For as long as this body is under the jurisdiction of the prime minister’s office, it cannot be expected to be independent,” Lesi said.

Ulqini said the draft of the new electronic media law has received approval from Council of Europe experts. The law will guarantee greater independence to the public media and avoid interference from government and politicians, he said.