Journalists will have a reduced access to the Albanian parliament starting from the next session in September, some journalists in the country have claimed.
The new regulation signed by Speaker of Parliament Gramoz Ruci on June 2, a few weeks before the end of his term, stipulates that accredited journalists can only be accommodated in specific rooms in the parliament building: the newsroom, the building where parliamentary sessions are held, and the room for press statements.
Journalists from the public broadcaster TVSH and public news agency ATSH/ATA are recognized a broader freedom of movement inside the parliament.
Unlike before, journalists will not be able to physically attend the meetings of parliamentary committees. Access to video broadcasts during the meetings will be provided to the media by parliament.
Requests to interview the members of parliament will pass from the parliament press office, the new regulation stipulates.
Journalists Esiona Konomi and Isa Myzyraj denounced the new regulation on social media.
Myzyraj fears journalists will not be able to follow the parliament activity but will only transmit to the public what the parliament wants to show.
Konomi remarked that the new regulation turns the parliament into another ERTV, the social media platform of Prime Minister Edi Rama through which he broadcasts government activity.
Journalists were not consulted before the drafting of this regulation, Konomi claimed.
