OSCE Presence to assist Albanian electronic media regulatory body draft national strategy

TIRANA, 3 October 2007 - The OSCE Presence in Albania will assist the National Council of Radio and Television (NCRT) in drafting an audio-visual strategy, which will focus on regulatory aspects of the radio-television sector. An agreement on the implementation of the project was signed today between the two institutions.

"The overall goal of the project is to enable the NCRT to fully play its role as a regulator, which ultimately will improve the performance of the electronic media in Albania," said Alex Finnen, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Presence.

"Finally, it is within the responsibility of the NCRT to draft the strategy and of the relevant Albanian institutions to approve it, thus paving the way to its implementation."

Under the project, the Presence will provide an international expert to assist the NCRT in drafting the strategy, which will tackle issues such as the management of the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting; establishment of a digital regulatory framework; improved regulation of analogue broadcasting; and enforcement of copyright and broadcasting rights.

Mesila Doda, the Chair of the National Council of Radio and Television, said that the Council is committed to working together with the expert in preparing the strategy.