On 17th of October, Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) in close cooperation with Prishtina Institute for Political Studies (PIPS) organized a Roundtable Discussion on the topic: “The Role and Impact of Media in Shaping Public Opinion on SAA”, held in Prishtina. The aim of this event was to discuss the important role that media plays in shaping the public opinion and communication the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, signed last April between Kosovo and the European Union. Panelists agreed that the SAA represents a landmark for Kosovo and media play a significant role in shaping the public opinion when communicating the SAA to the citizens of Kosovo. “SAA requires full commitment from all actors in Kosovo and media plays a crucial role for the process, not only by informing the citizens, but also in shaping the public opinion with regards to this important milestone for Kosovo”, stated H.E. Ms. Willems, Netherlands Ambassador to Kosovo. Representatives from the Ministry of European Integration informed the audience on the activities they are regularly undertaking in order to properly inform all relevant stakeholders, as well as citizens, on what this agreement entails and which are the results achieved so far in implementing the actions deriving from this agreement. In this regard, the Ministry has regularly organized consultations and approached media representatives, as one of the main partners contributing towards a better communication of the progress reached so far.  In addition to the communication strategy that has been published by the ministry, other means of information are also regularly employed, including periodic reports, media outlets, press releases, etc. Media representatives and field experts had a slightly different approach to the process. “Very often media is considered as an ‘enemy’ by the political spectrum in Kosovo and have been stigmatized in such terms, unfairly”, stated Mr. Bajrami, Editor-in-Chief at Koha Ditore. According to him, media has been active in concretely reporting the implementation of the SAA so far and due to the low level progress reached so far, this reports where often seen as methods media utilizes to build negative perceptions on the performance of the Kosovo institutions. Concluding the event, panelists agreed that the SAA represents the first contractual agreement with the European Union, and as such, there is a need of an enhanced cooperation by all relevant stakeholders, including institutions, civil society and media, which would lead to a considerably better results in implementing the actions this agreement entails. This roundtable was organized as part of the project EU-Kosovo-SAA (Our Contract for the Future), implemented by Prishtina Institute for Political Studies (PIPS) and Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS), supported by the Royal Embassy of Netherlands in Kosovo

Venue: Hotel Swiss Diamond, Prishtina.