The 16th annual meeting of the Alliance of Independent Press Councils in Europe (AIPCE) took place on 9 and 10 October in Brussels in collaboration with the European Commission. The meeting discussed the future of this network of independent media regulators, which has been facing new challenges related to the growing numbers of its participants.

The participation of South East European Press Councils enabled them to share experiences and best practices with well-established European press councils and to get first-hand information about the know-how of running such bodies.

During the conference, Robert Madelin, Director General of the DG Connect stressed the importance of self-regulation mechanisms for media freedom and the role of press councils to enhance media professional standards at the local level.

In a specific workshop with the representatives from the DG of Enlargement in the European Commission, Liljana Zurovac, Head of the Press Council in Bosnia and Herzegovina, spoke of the common challenges faced by press councils in South East Europe and how these could be addressed through the recently established regional network of cooperation. Andris Kesteris, principal adviser for DG Enlargement presented the Guidelines for the EU support to media freedom and media integrity in enlargement countries 2014-2020 and emphasized that the strategy to support press councils will stay as a top priority for the EU.

The representatives were supported as part the EU-UNESCO project: “Media Accountability in South East Europe” which started in January 2013. This project aims to strengthen press councils in the region, as these have proven to be essential safeguards of media freedom. By ensuring respect for codes of ethics and by dealing with readers and viewers’ complaints, press councils help media professionals to better protect themselves from informal economic and political pressures while winning the confidence of media consumers.