Category: News and Events

BIRN Serbia Launches Government Performance Report

Much-needed reforms are still being delayed and persistent problems such as corruption have yet to be tackled, says the latest Government Performance Report from BIRN Serbia.

BIRN Serbia’s newly-published report analyses developments in the economy, the fight against corruption and the education and health sectors under Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic’s government from 2014 to the announcement of early elections in 2016.

The report shows that reduced wages and pensions caused stagnation in consumer spending, unemployment remained high, and economic reform has been much slower than promised.

Serbia is still suffering from widespread corruption and the government has had limited impact on the problem, while convictions for corruption at the highest levels are still lacking, the report says.

The government’s time in office was marked by serious protests by education workers, while plagiarism scandals involving senior state officials have yet to be unresolved.

One of the biggest problems in healthcare relates to the financing of the health system. The anti-corruption struggle in the healthcare sector has only been partially successful, while access to healthcare is still not at a satisfactory level.

The full report is available at Mera Vlade.

BIRN Bosnia Journalists Get New Media Training

BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina’s journalists have attended training sessions on new technologies, social networks, video editing, online analytical systems and investigative journalism in recent months.

BIRN BIH journalists underwent the training sessions as the organisation began following the work of judiciary in the field of the rule of law in addition as well as reporting on war crimes and preparing a new modern media platform called detektor.ba.

The goal of the specialised training sessions was to modernise the journalists’ working tools and present the content produced by BIRN BiH to as many readers as possible, without compromising its journalistic ethics.   

Producers and editors from the leading media outlets in the region and community managers presented BIRN journalists with contemporary methods for creating and organising content with the aim of attaining a better outreach and having better communication with the audience.

The BIRN BiH team learned how to achieve achieving bigger presence and better positioning of their products on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, as well as increasing readership on BIRN’s own media outlet.  

Gordana Igric, BIRN’s regional director, also held a training session for junior journalists on investigative journalism, accentuating the importance of fact-checking, objectivity and impartiality, as well as the rule of having at least two sources.

BIRN Macedonia Lifts Lid on Farm Subsidies

 

Following the Skopje 2014 Uncovered database, BIRN Macedonia is promoting a second database, on how much the government spends on agricultural subsidies and who gets them.

 

The Balkan Investigative Reporters Network Macedonia has launched a database on government agricultural subsidies from 2010 to 2014.

According to BIRN, over four years, the country has spent 150 million euros on subsidies for livestock and 296 million for crop production, making a total of 446 million.

The data come from official documents obtained from the Agency for support of agriculture and rural development, referring to direct payments for plant and livestock production.

The data reveal that most of the money, or 83 percent of the total budget, was allocated in subsidies for individuals – over 370 million in the period from 2010 to 2014.

The participation rate of companies in the budget for subsidies is 17 per cent, about 75.7 million euros.

The database records 2,480 companies that benefited from grants from 2010 to 2014 and 53 measures for subsidies.

“Pelagonija”, “Povardarie” Winery, JSC “Varda” and, surprisingly, the Ministry of Agriculture, were the top four legal entities in terms of receiving most subsidies.

“Asked why they were on the list of legal entities taking subsidies, the Ministry of Agriculture responded that it was a settling of debts to farmers. Most of the subsidies were paid during the elections, and it is interesting that companies that receive major subsidies also have accounts abroad,” Aleksandar Dimitrievski, the author of the study, said.

Agricultural Engineering Professor Jovan Azhderski, who attended the promotion, said the effect of the subsidies had been almost nonexistent, although he added that it might take time to see the difference.

“From 2006 to now we should have seen some serious benefits… in improved quality, cost, technological processes for production, but we do not eat cheaper food yet and it is questionable if the quality has improved,” Azhderski said.

He also stressed that people with the same name and surname appear in the database several times.

However, there is not enough data to determine whether they are the same people, since the ID numbers of individual beneficiaries are classified data.

The database is available at the following link: www.subvencii.prizma.mk

MEPs ‘Deplore’ Defamation Threat Against BIRN Albania

In an amendment to the draft-resolution on Albania’s reform progress in 2015, two members of the European Parliament have expressed strong worded condemnation of a defamation threat issues against BIRN Albania from local officials, on the heels of investigation that exposed the criminal background of a number of mayor candidates in the June 2015 local elections.

The European Parliament “deplores that the Balkan Investigative Regional Network, an independent and investigative media outlet, has been threatened with a defamation case, following its investigations into the criminal past of a mayoral candidate during the local elections in 2015,”reads the amendment proposed MEPs Marietje Schaake and Ilhan Kyuchyuk, from the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

On the eve of the local elections BIRN Albania published an investigation exposing evidence that three mayor candidates running in the local elections had a criminal background.

Evidence obtained by BIRN showed that two candidates running for the Socialist-led ruling coalition, Artur Bushi and Elvis Rroshi, standing for the posts of mayor of Kruja and Kavaja , had been arrested for drug trafficking.

A candidate for the opposition Democratic Party in the municipality in Kelcyra, Gentian Muhameti, was meanwhile convicted of drug trafficking.

After the publication of the story the mayor of Kavaja Elvis Rroshi issued a statement threatening to sue BIRN for defamation in the amount of €100,000. The threat articulated by Rroshi, which included a three-day ultimatum for BIRN to withdraw the story, was repeated several times by Prime Minister Edi Rama in prime-time interviews.

BIRN Albania stood by its report and the threat of a lawsuit issued by Rroshi never materialized.  

In the draft-resolution prepared by the Rapporteur for Albania, Knut Fleckenstein, the European Parliament also expressed concern about the widespread censorship in the local media.

The concerns expressed by the MEPs come on the heels of a land-mark study published by BIRN Albania in October 2015 on the roots and causes of self-censorship among local journalists.

The report not only offers a complete overview of the roots and causes of self-censorship in the Albanian media as well as the forms in which it appears, but also proposes a series of recommendations on the necessary means and mechanisms that should be raised to combat it.

OSCE: Political Influence Undermines Serbia’s Prosecution

The way that Serbia’s State Prosecutorial Council is run raises concerns because it allows political influence on its election procedure, the OSCE Mission in Serbia told BIRN Serbia.

The OSCE Mission in Belgrade has told BIRN Serbia that progress isn’t possible in the existing constitutional and legal framework, and recommended removing opportunities for political influence during the appointment of prosecutors and judges.

“The State Prosecutorial Council should be the body that protects the independence of the prosecution,” the OSCE said.

“The State Prosecutorial Council is responsible for the selection of prosecutors. However, the structure of the Council allows political influence on the election procedure,” it added.

BIRN Serbia published two reports in December last year and January this year showing that prosecutors are elected on political rather than professional criteria.

Commenting on these reports, the OSCE Mission said that to have people on the State Prosecutorial Council who are not prosecutors was unacceptable.

BIRN Albania Holds Training on Asset Declarations of Judges

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Albania held a training session on March 9th in Tirana on the investigative techniques used to expose the illicit wealth of officials in the justice system.  

About 15 mid-career journalists from local and national media participated in the training, which provided p a guide to the basic methods and techniques of investigative journalism as well as an overview of the asset declaration system and procedures in Albania.

The training aimed to strengthen the skills of journalists to look closely at systemic issues of illicit wealth and conflict of interest, with a special focus on the red flags raised by the audit of asset disclosures by judges and officials of the justice system.

During the training key aspects of the asset declaration system in Albania were discussed as well as ongoing investigations by law-enforcement agencies and methods investigative journalist can employee to unearth the hidden assets of corrupt public officials.   

The training is part of the project ‘Exposing Illicit Wealth in the Albanian Justice System’ supported by the Democracy Commission Small Grants Programme of the US Embassy in Albania.

The journalists who take part in the training will participate in a competition from which BIRN Albania through an independent jury will select story ideas for five investigations and five in-depth analyses related to judges’ asset declarations that will be funded from the project and published with the help of BIRN editors via the online publications BalkanInsight.com and Reporter.al. 

Serbian PM Repeats Criticism of BIRN Investigation

Serbian premier Aleksandar Vucic said he stood by his claim that BIRN lied in an investigation into a government contract, but insisted that he never describes independent media as ‘foreign mercenaries’.

Vucic said on Monday that he was right to criticise the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network for its article last year alleging that a contract to clear flood water from Serbia’s Tamnava mine was awarded to a firm without prior experience of such work.

Asked about calling BIRN “liars” because of the article, Vucic said that he still has the same opinion about the investigation, but he may have used inappropriate language.

“Should I use the word ‘liars’? I suppose not. It is inappropriate for me as prime minister to use that word, but in essence, I did not said anything that is not true,” Vucic said in an interview with Serbian news portal Insajder.

Insajder journalist Irena Stevic asked Vucic to clarify what exactly was inaccurate in BIRN’s article, but he said he could not remember the details of the report.

However he said that the company awarded the contract to pump out the Tamnava mine, Energotehnika – Juzna Backa, lost about 1.5 million euros, which should prove there was no corruption.

Vucic said that he does not believes that he is responsible for attacks on independent media outlets by privately-owned pro-government media such as the tabloid Informer, Pink TV and Belgrade’s local television station Studio B.

“I think I went through the worst lynching. I don’t think I should answer for something that someone says in private media,” Vucic said.

Asked why foreign donations to independent media are depicted as anti-Serbian by pro-government outlets, which have also described independent journalists as traitors, Vucic said that he does not make that kind of accusation.

“You will not hear a story about treason and foreign mercenaries from me… that is simple not my vocabulary. I think those kind of qualifications belong to the past,” he said.

Insajder recently reported that over the past 15 years, the EU has given the Serbian government 2.6 billion euros in grants, but only gave Serbian media outlets 35 million euros during the same period.

But Vucic responded that the EU grants did not represent a major part of the state’s income.
“That kind of money is really small for the state… It is less than one per cent of the annual budget,” he said.

Since BIRN published its Tamnava investigation last year, it has unsuccessfully been trying to obtain information from Serbia’s state electricity provider, EPS, on the exact costs of pumping the water out of mine and how much money was paid to Energotehnika – Juzna Backa by the state.

BIRN requested EPS’s invoice for the service, as well documents from Energotehnika – Juzna Backa, on February 3, 2015.

EPS has never replied, and as a result has had to pay two fines of 160 euros and 1,500 euros imposed by the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance.

BIRN Macedonia Wins Investigative Reporting Award

BIRN Macedonia was awarded the prestigious “Nikola Mladenov” award for investigative reporting for the “Skopje 2014 Uncovered” database and series of investigative reports about the grand revamp of the capital.

“Considering its scope,’Skopje Uncovered’ is a groundbreaking endeavour in investigative journalism in Macedonia. BIRN’s team has demonstrated an exquisite capacity for research, analysis and organising huge volume of data,” said Biljana Petkovska, director of the Macedonian Institute for Media, when she announced the first prize for BIRN.

“This award is recognition for teamwork – an incentive and a promise that you will see many more BIRN investigations,” said Meri Jordanovska, BIRN reporter at the awards ceremony in Skopje on Thursday. 

The eight-month investigation draws on data procured through the Access to Public Information Act, the official web page of the Public Procurement Bureau, the “Skopje 2014” audit and other reports by the government.

When the grand revamp of the Macedonian capital was first announced back in 2010, the project, known as “Skopje 2014”, envisaged the construction of some 40 monuments, sculptures, facades and new buildings. Fast forward to 2015 and the number of buildings and monuments has tripled.

The price tag of Skopje’s new look has meanwhile also shot up, far surpassing the initially announced figure of €80 million, to around €634 million, BIRN’s investigation shows.

The “Skopje 2014 Uncovered” database documents and maps works built or under construction with the official contracts, authors’ fees, annexes and statistics on most contracted builders, sculptors, architects and foundries that participated in the project.

The second prize went to journalist Biljana Nikolovska from Telma TV for her documentary on a little girl who died while waiting for funds for surgery. The third prize was divided between team of NOVA TV website for their series on Telecom affair and SCOOP journalist Xhelal Neziri for an investigation on pollution.

Another investigation published on BIRN’s website Prizma by Aneta Dodevska on foreign investments received special mention by the jury.

The Macedonian Institute for Media first established the prize in 2001 to support investigative journalism in the country. Three years ago this award was named after Nikola Mladenov, a veteran editor and owner of Fokus weekly who died in a tragic car accident.

BIRN Bolsters Social Media Expertise

Communication officers from across the BIRN Network gathered in Serbia’s capital on February 23-24 for an intensive training session focused on social media.

BIRN Hub organised the two-day training programme for its six communications officers as part of its focus on staff capacity building, as well as improving the overall output of BIRN’s publications for its international audiences.

Developments in social media and technology were on the agenda, alongside ways to maximize the use of advertising tools, audience targeting strategies, community building and improving the overall digital experience for BIRN’s audiences.

The training was also an opportunity for the country-specific communications officers to share information and experiences face-to-face, rather than via online portals as is common in a Network spanning multiple countries.

Attendees were also able to discuss the Network’s future growth and how they plan to adapt their social media and digital strategies for the future.

BIRN Hub, as a secretariat of the Network, is tasked with offering assistance to its members, including by developing editorial, digital and other relevant skills. The Network has identified a need to support its members by building their capacities and management skills in order to ensure long-term sustainability.

As part of its investment in social media skill development, BIRN Hub will be organising monthly training sessions for its communication officers, aimed at fostering a cohesive approach across all five regions in the Network – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia.

 

BFJE Alumna Barbara Matejcic’s New Publication

New work by Fellow from 2009 looks at the challenging experiences of people rejected or ignored by wider society.

Six features by Barbara BFJE alumna Matejcic, covering the problems of rejection, handicap and the power of superstition – but also people’s strength of purpose – are being published in Croatia.

“Kako ste?” [“How are you?”], published by Heinrich Boll, looks at the fate of so-called second-class citizens who are often invisible to most of society.

The features ask what it means to live with mental illness, what obstacles Roma children must overcome to be educated, what goes through the mind of a motionless person, how families with an undesirable national stigma survive in Croatia and what the fears of young women oppressed because of their sexual orientation are – among others.

A freelance journalist and editor from Zagreb in Croatia, Matejcic has long specialized in covering social issues.

She was recognized for the best written journalistic work in 2013 with the “Marija Juric Zagorka” award by the Croatian Journalists’ Association in 2014, and for the promotion of peace, nonviolence and human rights with the “Krunoslav Sukić” award (Center for Peace, 2013).

She received recognition for best monitoring of LGBT themes in Croatia from 2000 to 2010 from Zagreb Pride in 2011.

Matejcic was a BFJE fellow in 2009. Her story focused on the phenomenon of mixed marriages in cities that were once multi-ethnic communities in the former Yugoslavia, but which were destroyed by the war in the 1990s.