Local media should bring EU integration closer to citizens

BELGRADE - Head of the Serbian negotiating team in the EU accession talks Tanja Miscevic said that in their reports on European integration, the local media are not attaching sufficient attention to the importance of reforms for citizens' lives.

Opening the meeting on the media and the civil society as guarantors of a transparent, responsible and inclusive talks with the EU, Miscevic said that the accession talks with the EU are a process the goals of which do not boil down to the membership status only, but also cover an essential social reform, which is why the focus of the media reports on European integration needs to be shifted from the technical aspects of the talks to each of the individual areas which will undergo changes in the process.

The local media need to create a space where information would be provided not just about the progress made in the screenings, but also about the reasons behind it, which calls for motivation to do research and ensure reporters get continuous updates about the process itself.

The key issue in reports on European integration needs to be the personal interest of the citizens and the ways European integration impacts the life of every individual in Serbia, Miscevic told a meeting organised by the Belgrade Open School.

Photo Tanjug, N. Milosevic (archive photo)