The mediator in negotiations for the implementation of the Przhino Agreement Peter Vanhoutte has, in recent days, held bilateral meetings with various political parties and the representatives of associations and organizations of journalists, hoping to reach a solution regarding media reforms. One of the key issues the international community will be looking at, while assessing whether it will be possible to hold fair, democratic and credible elections on April 24.
On the eve of the evaluation on the elections, a meeting has been announced with the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn. However, speculation concerning this matter goes as far as to suggest that the meeting will take place on Friday in Skopje or that it will be held in Brussels, out of sight of the Macedonian public. Yesterday, Vanhoutte met with representatives of the Macedonian Media Association (5 national TV stations) who requested the full de-politicisation of the Media Agency, regulation on copyright and before penalties are imposed there should be deterrent measures as well as reasonable penalties for the media. The proposal for penalties have been accepted by the media, the mediator Vanhoutte and a majority of the political parties. Only the VMRO-DPMNE are requesting maximum penalties. The MMA also asked for production of programs to be supported by a special state fund, which would help in the creation of more domestic media. The requirements of the MMA remain to be discussed
Requirements of the MMA remain to be discussed include the manner of the election of the Council of the Agency for audio and audio visual services.
The proposal has the support of three of the political parties, the SDSM,DUI and the DPA, but is still opposed by the VMRO-DPMNE
