09.00 - 09.30 Registration & Coffee
09:30 - 10:30 SESSION 1. Opening Remarks by hosts, organisers, and official guests.
- Mr. Donald Tusk, President of European Council (to be confirmed)
- Mr. Theodore Zahov, Chairman of Union of Publishers in Bulgaria, Co-publisher and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Economedia AD
- Mr. Valdo Lehari Jr., ENPA Vice-President, CEO and Publisher of Reutlinger General-Anzeiger Verlag in Germany;
Q&A Session: 15 mins
10.30 - 12:00 SESSION 2. Future of the Media in the EU: challenges and opportunities.
- Mrs. Pauline Adès-Mével, Head of the European Union-Balkans Office, Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
- Mr. Matthijs Berman, Principal Adviser of the OSCE, Representative on Freedom of the Media
- Mr. Mark Dekan, CEO Ringier Axel Springer Media AG Mr. Michal Boni, MEP (EPP/PL)
Moderated by: Dr. Lutz Kinkel, Managing Director of ECPMF, Former Editor at Spiegel-Online and tagesschau.de, Head of the Stern-Online Office in Berlin
Q&A Session: 15 mins
12.15 - 13.45 SESSION 3. Pressures on Media Freedom in the EU: case studies (Part I) - Session dedicated to Poland, Czech Republic, and Hungary.
- Mr. Tomasz Piatek, Investigative Journalist, Author of the book, ‘Macierewicz and his Secrets’ Poland
- Mr. Mirosław Wróblewski, Director of the Department of Constitutional, International and European Law, Office of the Polish Ombudsman, Poland
- Mr. Bartosz Wielinski, Foreign Editor of Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland
- Mr. Václav Štětka, Researcher and Expert on Media policies, Loughborough University, Czech Republic
- Mr. Gabor Polyak, Director of Mertek Media Monitor, Hungary
- Mr. Benedek Javor, MEP (Greens/HU), Hungary
Moderated by: Mrs. Silvia Chocarro, Global Advocacy Strategist, IFEX,
Q&A Session - 15 mins.
12.00 - 12.15 COFFEE BREAK
13.45 - 14:30 LUNCH
14.30 - 16.00 SESSION 4. Pressures on Media Freedom in the EU and candidate countries: case studies (Part II) -
Session dedicated to Bulgaria, Slovakia, Malta and Serbia.
- Mr. Alexander Kashamov, Attorney-at-law, Head of the Legal Team of Access to Information Programme, Bulgaria
- Mr. Matthew Caruana Galizia, Journalist at International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) Malta; the son of the former Maltese journalist, writer, and anti-corruption activist Daphne Caruana Galizia
- Mr. Oliver Vujovic, South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
- Secretary General Mr. Pavol Szalai, Senior Editor at Euractiv.sk, Slovakia
- Mr. Peter Bardy, Editor in Chief of Aktuality.sk, Slovakia (video)
- Mr. Zoran Sekulic, President of Managing Board of the Serbian Newspaper Publishers Association; Owner and Editor in Chief of News Agency FoNet, Serbia
Moderated by: Mr. Ivan Bedrov, investigative journalist, Bulgaria
Q&A Session: 15 mins
16.00 - 17:00 SESSION 5. Sofia Declaration on Media Freedom in Europe
Release of Sofia Declaration on Media Freedom in Europe with concrete policy recommendations to encourage the independence and sustainability of the press in EU member states and its candidates.
17:00 -17:30 SESSION 6. Closing remarks
17.30 PRESS CONFERENCE
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