OSCE media freedom representative meets Bulgarian Foreign Minister, discusses media freedom issues and co-operation

SOFIA, 30 May 2011 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, discussed the media situation in Bulgaria during a meeting today with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov.

“We talked about media freedom in Bulgaria, safety of journalists and media legislation in the whole OSCE region," said Mijatović. “There is a pressing need to improve the safety of journalists in several OSCE participating States, including Bulgaria.”

During the meeting, Mijatović said her office follows developments related to authorities'  investigations  of cases of violence against journalists, adding that she hopes that offenders will be prosecuted.

"I welcome Bulgarian authorities' co-operation with my office. We are ready to support and assist in further reforms to media legislation, including the decriminalization of defamation,” Mijatović said.

They also discussed OSCE engagement with the Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation.

Mijatović is in Sofia to deliver a keynote speech at a conference on press freedom and media regulation in Central and Eastern Europe organized by Council of Europe, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and the Robert Schuman Foundation.