FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Albania, the only country in Europe that hits online media with 20% VAT...
Albania has been ranked for years among the most problematic countries for media freedom, and this does not come from any technical shortcomings, but from a complete architecture of political and economic control.
Instead of the media functioning as an accountability mechanism, it has become a segment of power, oligarchy and common interests. Albania is today the only country in Europe where online media is taxed at 20 percent VAT, a heavy and inexplicable burden that only harms independent media that does not have political funding. This tax does not exist anywhere on the continent and is clear proof that the state sees the media as a subject to be controlled, not as an institution that should guarantee democracy.
In Albania, media owners are simultaneously beneficiaries of tenders, construction permits, concessions, and public projects. This makes the media an extension of business and government, not the public.
State advertising is distributed only to friendly media outlets, while critical media outlets are left without resources, creating a systemic dependency that destroys editorial independence. Dependent media do not question, investigate, or challenge, because it threatens the owner's income.
Journalists face pressure, self-censorship, and real security risks every day. Physical and economic threats are documented, while institutions do not protect anyone.
The police and prosecutors often do not react, which leads newsrooms to silence, especially when it concerns politicians, oligarchs, or organized crime. In this atmosphere, any attempt at quality journalism is blocked by fear and lack of support.
The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that the advertising market is dominated by companies with political connections. This market does not reward quality, but servility. If a media outlet clashes with the interests of a large advertiser, funding is lost and independence is undermined. Even when the media have the will to be free, they do not have sufficient instruments to maintain this freedom.
In a country where the media is taxed and propaganda is subsidized, where journalists are underpaid and unprotected, where editorial offices lack resources and owners have direct political interests, there is no way that true press freedom can exist. Albania is not behind Europe for lack of talent, but for lack of institutional will to protect freedom of speech.
Media freedom in Albania is not weak because the country has few media outlets. On the contrary, the country has many media outlets, but very few that are free. The problem is not the lack of voices, but the lack of voices that can speak without fear. In a reality where power, business and crime function as a single system, media that remains outside this system is excluded, taxed, isolated and suppressed.
The state that imposes a 20 percent VAT on online media and meanwhile distributes millions on propaganda, does not aim for accountability. It aims for control. And control is the main opponent of freedom of speech./ Pamphlet
Albanian Media is the dirtiest media in the World.