The Concept During the past years, the media and journalists in South East Europe have often been forced to work under difficult conditions. The recent deepening political and economic crisis has a particularly devastating effect on the media. It is proving ever more difficult for journalists to do their work properly. Independent newspapers, private TV and radio stations are subject to repressive laws and policies, and are facing cumbersome fines which threaten their economic survival. From defamation to national security, from privacy to contempt of court, laws are widely used to suppress information and opinions that have the right to see the light of the day.
Public representatives have a tendency to limit public access to information.
Official files and documents are often unnecessarily withheld from the public's eye, impeding its right to be fully informed and preventing it from evaluating the performance of the public representatives. Physical harassment, threats and intimidation are deployed to discourage inconvenient reports. Radio stations have been closed and equipment destroyed, newspapers have been prosecuted and fined, and economic sanctions have been used to bring the independent media to the brink of bankruptcy. The Board elects a President and a Vice-president. In seeking membership, the candidates will formally declare in a written statement their willingness to work for press freedom and the achievement of the Organisation's stated objectives as defined below.