The National Center of Cinematography and the Central State Film Archive called for clearer measures against the unauthorized use of works and for guarantees regarding payment to authors. Representatives from cinematography and copyright institutions raised concerns regarding the use of artistic materials without authorization or appropriate remuneration.

“In present-day Albania, Albanian actors, singers, artists, and writers have not managed—and still cannot manage—to receive the income due to them from the use, sale, and broadcasting of their works because our system has been failing,” stated MP Ina Zhupa.

The Central State Film Archive faces similar problems. Director Eljan Tanini notes that people frequently reuse and post its materials on social media, ignoring copyright laws.

The YouTube platform presents another problem, as authors have never received any compensation from it. Tanini called for a stronger role for institutions in removing content published without authorization, while also highlighting the immense value of films and photographs as part of the national memory.

The National Center of Cinematography requested that the new law should address more clearly the broadcasting and screening of audiovisual works on online platforms.

The Copyright Directorate noted that the draft law creates the first dedicated framework and procedure for handling unauthorized content on digital platforms.

According to Copyright Directorate Director Borana Ajazi, the new law innovates by securing digital copyright protections and creating a specialized team to combat unauthorized online sharing.

The committee also discussed adjusting penalty amounts for entities that use copyrighted music without paying fees.

The committee requested that participating institutions submit—by September 30—written proposals and identify any issues that should be reflected in the draft law. /p.s./

Çela emphasized that the year 2023 was a challenging year for the prosecutors due to implementation of the new judicial map and reduction in the number of prosecutors as a result of the suspension or dismissal during the vetting process.

General Prosecutor highlighted the fact that they have paid special attention to implementation of joint acts with institutions and law enforcement agencies inside and outside the country, as well as the approval of new agreements to increase the effectiveness of inter-institutional cooperation.

General Prosecutor also focused on the measures taken to pursue the priority objectives in the fight against crime. According to him, in 2023 there has been paid special attention on the criminal offense of money laundering, implementation of the judicial map, digitization, monitoring of the activity of the judicial police, coordination with justice and law enforcement institutions inside and outside the country and strengthening of institutional capacities.

During 2023, the prosecution office handled 55,253 incriminating materials, which is a decrease of 9.4% compared to 2022.

Meanwhile, 9,652 cases with charges against 11,401 defendants were sent to court. If compared to 2022, there is a decrease of 12.13% in the number of cases sent to court and 11.87% in the number of defendants sent to court.

According to Chief Prosecutor Çela, this shows that there is a decreasing tendency in the number of registered proceedings, while he highlighted the fact that the cooperation memorandum with the State Police also had an impact on this decrease./r.e/p.s./

During the panel moderated by journalist Blendi Salaj, there were held discussions on the challenges of reporting in times of crises and wars, the authenticity of the news and the influence of “Fake News”, as well as the contribution of civil society in these moments of crisis, its action with the media, etc. The discussions were completed by the panel with Remzi Lani from the Albanian Institute of Media, the journalist and representative of the Civil Society Lutfi Dervishi as well as with the journalist who has been in Ukraine, war reporter Julian Kasapi.

While Russian aggression continues in Ukraine and the war has entered its third year, the conflict lacks media attention and this has an effect on the developments inside the war zone, when much can happen outside the media and public attention. /r.e/p.s./

Duka focused on the difficulties he encountered and commented on the great changes that football has had in our country.

Duka also reiterated his call for application of the sponsorship law. He said that there should be a sponsorship law to help sports in general in Albania and not just football.

“In my beginnings, in our country, there was only one activity in the first division and one in the second division while today we organize not only national championships of all levels, but we also organize regional championships for children, for amateurs, veterans, of women, things that did not exist at that time and that have developed a lot. To put it in numbers, we organize about 600 matches a week. Even in the international representation of Albanian football, about which we are present at all levels or in the World qualifiers for both men and women. So, there is a big difference in regard to the number of football players who are active and the activities, but also in the representation and the results”, said Duka.

Duka also spoke about the challenges as UEFA vice president.

“This is thanks to the development of football in Albania, the results, the change of the infrastructure or the institution itself. I believe that the representation of Albanian football at the European level comes from this. Not only with me as a member of the Executive Committee and vice-president of UEFA, but with other as well. When I started as Head of Albanian Football Association, our country had only one match delegate, while today it counts over 15 members of different committees because this is how UEFA is organized, with committees for each field. All committees have representatives from Albanian football. If there is no development in your own country, it is difficult to be asked to contribute to European football. It is an appreciation for football, for the Association, the representation at the European level, not only as UEFA vice-president, but with a good part of Albanian administrators, specialists and referees”, said Duka. /p.s./

During his speech at the panel of the Congress of Socialists and Democrats in Berlin, Rama said that, “I was thinking about what would be a valuable contribution to this Congress, as I come from a country that is not in the EU, but is located in Europe and being part of this space, in the heart of Europe, in the heart of the European Union, but outside the EU, which is the Western Balkans, I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea if I tried to convey the message that what started a few weeks ago in Prague, i.e. the effort to unite Europe beyond the borders of the European Union and to include countries that in one way or another are connected, not simply to the fate of Europe, but also with the way the EU moves forward”.

“There is still a big question mark. Yes, this community is necessary especially in these times during which we face common challenges. But, the way this community functions will be such that in the end, all see the results. How can this community function in such a way that when it comes to extraordinary common challenges, no one is left behind and no one’s contribution to the common European attitude is taken for granted,” said Rama.

“We have a terrible experience with the European Union, when the pandemic broke out and when the EU gathered in a hurry and under the pressure of a very great anxiety to start vaccination and in the first round of vaccination, we were completely forgotten”, emphasized Rama.

“So, we had to see how others around us began to vaccinate their elderly, their nurses, their doctors, while we, the citizens of the Western Balkans, even though we were so confident and so loyal to Europe, we were like fish out of water. What could we do? We had to run and find the vaccines exactly where the European Union says that the danger comes, China, Russia and Turkey”, said Rama.

“In the case of Albania, for example, if it hadn’t been for Turkey and President Erdogan, we wouldn’t have been able to vaccinate anyone for a long time. The same applies to Serbia and China and to a certain extent, even Russia”, stressed PM Rama.

“It was a very scary moment because we saw that in a very difficult situation, the European Union was not for us; it was not for our people, it was not present for a matter of life and death,” the head of government further stated.

“Again, here we are. The energy crisis is not a pandemic, but it is similar when it comes to the striking power that can disturb the entire European community, I would say. And I hope that it will not happen again that whatever solution is found within the EU, however the EU chooses to support the member countries to face this huge blow, we will not be left out again”, said Rama. /j.p/p.s./

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Frida Krifca received the Ambassador of Switzerland to our country Adrian Maître at the premises of the Ministry today.

“We discussed the support of the Swiss government to agriculture, the development and approximation of the sector with the European Union standards,” said Krifca.

Krifca expressed enthusiasm that, “Within May, thanks to the Swiss support, we shall launch the newest project of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development that will improve the quality and capacity in the value chain for the aromatic herbs as well as medical and fruit-vegetable sector”.

Aromatic medicinal plants and fresh vegetables are two of the main sectors that dominate Albanian agricultural exports and are on high demand in the international markets.

The Swiss support for improving their quality bringing it up to the best standards is an added value for the economy and promotion of employment. /j.p/r.e/p.s./

The event, called ‘Youth Trail’ is now a tradition of the OSCE Presence in Albania, which has been bringing together young people from the region since 2017 to connect and debate about democracy, security, peace and co-operation. This was the first time that ‘Youth Trail’ focused on one specific topic – the media – to concur with the OSCE’s 8th South East Europe Media Conference (SEEMC) that took place in Tirana on 11 and 12 October 2021.

The young journalists worked together to develop a document – Tirana Media Platform – where they recognized the importance and urgency of tackling some of the most pressing media issues, such as low ethical standards, limited self-regulation, low level of media literacy, fake news and disinformation, limited possibilities for gatekeeping, poor working conditions, and lack of safety and protection particularly for women journalists. On behalf of all Youth Trail participants, two of them – Ljubica Ivanova from North Macedonia and Lazar Convs from Serbia – presented the Platform at the SEEMC. They called upon the attention of state institutions, media and international organizations to their set of recommendations, and stressed that young journalists see themselves as part of the solution.

During their stay in Albania, the young journalists met, among others, Youth Minister, Bora Muzhaqi, Tirana Mayor, Erion Veliaj, General Director of National Youth Agency, Kleina Kasanai, Head of Journalism Department, Mark Marku, Secretary General of the Regional Youth Co-operation Office (RYCO), Albert Hani, Dutch Ambassador, Reinout Vos, as well as the OSCE Representative of Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, and Head of OSCE Presence Vincenzo Del Monaco.

They also visited the former political prison of Spaç and listened to testimonies from Albania’s communist past as a reminder that freedom and freedom of the media are not to be taken for granted.

The OSCE Presence in Albania organized ‘Youth Trail 2021’ with the support of the Austrian Development Agency, the embassies of Greece and Italy in Albania, and in co-operation with the Municipality of Tirana, RYCO, Tirana University’s Journalism Department, and other OSCE field operations in the region.

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“Coming here through such a good and so fast road, I remember not many years ago, but until a few years ago, that coming to Gramsh was a real torture,” said Rama.

Today, he continued, “Gramsh is much closer to Elbasan and Elbasan closer to Tirana and we are much farther from the past and much closer to the future.”

“But, do not forget for a moment that the higher you climb, the harder it is to climb, the more your character, patience, determination, courage and faith are tested. They say that when you go towards a peak, the closer to the top the farther the peak is. Because the legs start to show signs of fatigue, because the heart beats harder, because the mind starts to say: stop, sit down, rest, go back, enough to get here, or worse still, to say look there is no other way”, said Rama addressing the young people.

In these moments, he said, “Man, community, people, a whole nation, are set to win or lose, to succeed or fail.”

“It has happened several times in our history that just when the wind has become stronger, then we have chosen to avoid facing great challenges and fall short, and in fact it has fallen on us for so long and we have paid so dearly, The Albanians ran after Haxhi Qamili to fall short. In another moment, they run after pyramid schemes and paid it very dearly “, said Rama

We, he continued, “have chosen to face with all those challenges carried over for years which due to wrong leadership Albania has avoided”.

“Today, Albania has no comparison with what it was 6-7 years ago, but it is certain that Albania is far from being what it should be for all the children and girls of this country. And the choice is very clear: will we continue to climb to make Albania our future, or will we stop and wanting to fall short, will we fall as long as possible?” Rama said.

The prime minister added that, “There is no doubt that Albania works, produces, exports agricultural products today, much more than years ago”.

“Albania is building its future in tourism. Goes forward through work and I know that only work can be rewarded “, said Rama. /m.m/p.s./

Rama said that, “Albania is today one of the only two countries in the entire Balkans with mass vaccination and the number of vaccinations that every day in percentage of the population is rising and will climb very quickly to the top of the European classification.”

The prime minister said that, “There are 8 years, and they have not given a single contribution. Good contribution in normal times, but at least the contribution of understanding and silence in times of tragedy “.

“When an earthquake happens, these are done with the earthquake, not with the Albanians. A virus spreads once in 100 years, these are done with the virus, not with the Albanians”, said Rama./j.p/r.e/p.s./

In her remarks, Denaj underlined the importance of mitigating the impact of pandemicc on the labor market, as well as providing mediation for more decent work.

The meeting focused on several topics such as information regarding the implementation of Law no. 29/2019 “On the financial, supplementary treatment of employees who have worked in underground mines, employees of the oil and gas industry and employees who have worked in metallurgy.”

At issue was also information on the procedure followed for the ratification of ILO Convention 190 “On Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work,” as well as information on the study about the challenges facing small and medium –sized business during the pandemic as well as the implementation of the project “Empowerment of women against COVID-19 in the toll manufacturing.”
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