Europe has come to the Western Balkans to stay, European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas stressed in his address on Monday to the Association of Balkan News Agencies - Southeastern Europe (ABNA-SE) Conference organised by the Athens-Macedonian News Agency in Thessaloniki, on the topic "The role of news information in the new Balkan reality".
"...we are not passing visitors, we are not shopping for friends, we are the main foreign investment in the region and we are not here to be popular. We do not want to buy football teams, nor radio stations, nor publicity but we are determined to invest in the truth and good governments," Schinas said.
According to the Commissioner, the aim "is to create around us an ecosystem of good governments, which will undoubtedly be the path toward the European Union."
Talking about the European Commission's battle against misinformation, Schinas said that "we are doing everything we can at this time to bring neighbours closer together but manipulation and misinformation have never had a stronger presence in the Western Balkans than they do today." The foundation of the past, he added, was the important role played by the mass media.
"There is a programme, in order to build a better prepared area in the mass media sector and to target information using a positive communications strategy, through a clear transmission of the message that is based on facts, in order to raise awareness regarding policies," Schinas said.
He also noted the creation of a network of 180 new European 'ambassadors' in the region, so they will be more actively engaged in explaining the European Union to local communities but also enhance citizen activism. He said they would specifically target areas and sectors where this had not been done before, by organising major local conferences, such as the ABNA-SE conference, and specifically adapted events on media literacy to combat populism.
"The hardest and most important thing is that we continue to reinforce transparency on a local level," he said, while stressing the need for commitment to the Western Balkans.
"One thing is certain regarding the policy for the region. In times like these we need more commitment, not less, in relation to the Western Balkans. We must support the region politically and economically and we must make it absolutely clear to public opinion in these countries that the path toward becoming a member of the European Union has been laid and there is no return from this path. It is also extremely important to continue to commit not only with governments but with mass media and with society, with people that shape public opinion, and we must deal specifically with challenges that could be an obstacle to a European path. The EU project remains attractive to these countries as never before," he concluded.

The conference can be livestreamed on the website www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dNZ8yTCNDg

SPONSORS - SUPPORTERS

MEGA SPONSOR: Aegean Airlines. GOLD SPONSOR: HELLENiQ ENERGY, Papastratos, AVAX, MYTILINEOS, CISCO - International Centre of Digital Transformation and Digital Skills.

SUPPORTERS: General Secretariat for Media and Communication, Central Macedonia Region, Thessaloniki Municipality, Greek National Tourism Organisation, Tourism Organisation of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki Port Authority, European Interbalkan Medical Centre, the Association of Winemakers of Northern Greece and Elenidis.