Francesco Sciacchitano, founding member of MEDEA and senior expert at AGCOM, played a pivotal role in a recent capacity-building workshop aimed at supporting Albania’s alignment with European media legislation. His contribution was central to guiding the Albanian Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA) through the complexities of transposing the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) into the national legal framework.
Organized under the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye III, the workshop formed part of the PRO-FREX action, which seeks to strengthen institutional capacities to safeguard freedom of expression and media pluralism.
Francesco shared European practices and comparative insights on:
- The evolving role of independent regulatory authorities in the audiovisual and digital sectors.
- Enhancing AMA’s autonomy and enforcement powers.
- Promoting editorial independence, ownership transparency, and responsible state advertising.
- Addressing legal gaps and ensuring effective implementation of EMFA and DSA provisions.
The workshop culminated in the development of a roadmap to guide Albania’s legislative alignment with EU standards.
As Albania continues to strengthen its democratic institutions, the integration of EMFA and DSA into its media framework marks a significant step toward ensuring media freedom, pluralism, and resilience in the digital age.
Francesco’s leadership exemplifies MEDEA’s commitment to fostering international cooperation and policy innovation in digital governance and media regulation.
More information: https://www.coe.int/el/web/freedom-expression/-/integrating-european-media-freedom-act-emfa-and-digital-services-act-%C2%A0in-albania-s-media-framework