The first issue of the Media Observatory Report in the frame of the multilayered project “ALGREE — Albania Greece: Understanding. Connecting. Partnering” implemented by the South-East Europe Programme of the Hellenic Foundation for Foreign & European Policy (ELIAMEP), and powered by the Open Society Foundation for Albania (OSFA) and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Greece and Cyprus (FNF), has recently been launched. 
The report is the fruit of systematic monitoring of key Greek and Albania media, have said Project lead & academic coordinator Ioannis Armakolas, Associate Professor, University of Macedonia, Senior Research Fellow & Head of South-East Europe Programme, ELIAMEP, and Media analyst & MORE editor-in-chief Alexandra Voudouri in a joint exclusive interview with Albanian Daily News. 
“The first issue is the outcome of a monitoring period between May and September 2022 for which the team has selected number of key stories to analyse,” the researchers, Armakolas and Voudouri explained in the following interview:   

Albanian Daily News: Alexandra and Ioannis it is a great opportunity to continue our discussions on the progress of Albanian-Greek relationship the gist of which has been published in interviews in Albanian Daily News. First of all, let me congratulate you on the publication of the first issue of the Media Observatory Report in the frame of the multilayered project “ALGREE - Albania Greece: Understanding. Connecting. Partnering”, which is an analysis of the impact of Albanian media reporting of Greece, and Greek media reporting of Albania on issues of common interest. Please could you share with us some of the main topics analyzed in the report?   
Media analyst & MORE editor-in-chief Alexandra Voudouri: We would like to thank you for your interest in the first issue of the Media Observatory Report (MORE), which is part of a three-year project called ALGREE (Albania/Greece: Understanding, Connecting, Partnering). The project’s acronym highlights its main purpose: to tackle in a comprehensive manner serious problems and gaps in bilateral/official, societal/grassroots relations between Albania and Greece. 
The project has been an original idea of Ioannis Armakolas following years of research on Albania and opinion polls which have investigated how Greeks and Albanians perceive relations between their countries, but also how they view each other. One of the main conclusions of these polls had been that relations between the two peoples have improved over the last couple of years, but this was certainly not reflected in the approaches taken by the media in both countries. In fact, the media in both countries were (and still are) feeding the public agenda with misconceptions, distrust, and negative narratives. 
Therefore, our team of ELIAMEP’s South-East Europe Programme developed the idea of creating a Media Monitoring team in Athens and Tirana, which would focus on the media’s reporting of bilateral relations, political but also social affairs issues. We also sought to offer something new, a study with an innovative structure and easy, pleasant to read even by those who are not necessarily Albanians or Greeks. 
Project lead & academic coordinator Ioannis Armakolas: I could add that MORE aspires to become a stimulus for reflection on how media in Greece and Albania could not only provide a critical account of how the two governments handle unresolved issues, but also a balanced explanation of the other side’s sensitivities, enabling understanding to develop between the two peoples. We think that if the media could facilitate an honest dialogue, connecting the two societies and enabling the genuine partnering of the two states, perhaps our two countries could overcome the problematic past in their bilateral relations and finally resolve the issues and bilateral disputes. 
Additionally, our project would have never become a reality without the support of our two partners in Albania and Greece, namely the Open Society Foundation for Albania (OFSA) and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Greece and Cyprus (FNF). 
Voudouri: The first issue of MORE is the fruit of monitoring between May and September 2022, for which we have selected number of key stories to analyse. The selected time period was very interesting for the bilateral relations since Greece’s Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias visited Tirana in May as part of a tour of the Western Balkans intended “to remind the importance of the region for the EU”, Albania finally began its EU accession talks in July and this was warmly welcomed by Greece which has for many years advocating in favour of the Western Balkans’ EU integration, something that is not very well known among Albanian citizens, as relevant polls conducted by ELIAMEP have shown. 
Additionally, in our first report we sought to analyse two other issues that have also been highlighted in relevant Greece – Albania opinion polls: the maritime borders issue and Tirana’s close relations with Ankara. The media in both our respective countries seem to be obsessed with these issues and this has certainly a significant impact on the relevant perceptions of the public in both countries. 
Lastly, we also chose to include in our report the success story of Elina Tzengko, the European javelin champion born and raised in Greece by Albanian migrant parents as an issue that reflects the general public mood in both our countries that Albanians are well integrated in Greek society. 

- Which are in a nutshell, the key findings of the report on the relations between the two neighboring countries and secondly, which is, according to you, the impact of the media on their progress? 
Armakolas: One of the key findings of this report is that media in both countries tend to focus far more on controversies and sensitive issues than the actual state of official relations between the two sides should warrant. In fact, both Greek and Albanian media miss opportunities to act as “facilitators” for the two governments’ obvious efforts to find ways to settle their outstanding bilateral issues, improve the political atmosphere and build trust. Instead, most of their stories reproduce the usual narratives, toxic words and expressions that served only to further poison the relationship between the two peoples. 
It also seems that the media in both countries are reflecting the different prioritization of unresolved issues by their respective governments. To some extent, this also explains the different perceptions of the two peoples’ sensitivities on certain issues, which are also reflected in opinion polls. 
On the issue of maritime borders, which has taken a different direction following the important decision of the two governments to refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice, it seems that the highly technical and complex nature of the problem is being exploited by some media and analysts to sow discord and weaken trust between the two sides. The Albanian media in particular often publish half-truths and unsubstantiated analyses and claims about Greece’s alleged “real intentions”, cultivating a narrative of the Greeks working to trick Albania into accepting a deal that is damaging to its national interests. 
That is why we believe that the two governments need to be more proactive in explaining the process and its benefits and educating the public about both and therefore, governments, experts and media must work together to improve the public discourse and, build and consolidate an atmosphere of bilateral trust. 
Voudouri: On the other hand, I could add that the Greek media tend to over-emphasise the bond between Tirana and Ankara and completely misrepresent Albania as a proxy of Turkey in the region. I could say that the governments in Albania and Greece are also partly responsible, given their failure both to offer each other reassurances about their intentions and to provide sufficient support to efforts seeking to build trust between the two societies. 
Another conclusion which I think is quite important is that the media coverage regarding Albania’s EU integration process remains narrow in perspective on both sides, and primarily focuses on the national interest. It fails to report and/or analyse the benefits which European integration could be expected to bring for Albanian society, bilateral relations, and the Western Balkans as a whole. 

-How much do media influence on shaping public opinion attitudes in Albania and Greece and generally speaking have they helped to promote the people-to-people exchanges or remain an obstacle? 
Armakolas: Well, yet another conclusion our first report is that the media in both countries seem to have so far failed to deliver on the political and societal need for good relations between the two countries. Out of step with both the rapidly improving situation at the level of official politics and the societal bonds that exist, the media continue to be driven by misconceptions and prejudices. They keep on missing opportunities provided by the two governments to create a space for more healthy reporting and political discourse. And, as is made graphically clear in our report, the problematic reporting itself influences and shapes public opinion attitudes which, in turn, become an obstacle to cross-border political and societal understanding. 
However, the main purpose of our project is not to point the finger at the wrongdoings or to hold the media to account for all the inaccuracies, prejudice and stereotyping that still prevail in the public agenda of both countries. Instead, we mainly aim to provide food for thought, but also incentives for journalists, opinion makers and publicists to reflect on opportunities missed in the public sphere of both countries. 

- Given your experience, how do you assess the exchanges between Albanian and Greek media? 
Alexandra: As a journalist and diplomatic affairs editor for many years, I have to tell you that there were not many exchanges among journalists of our two countries. There are some sort of collaborations between networks but not very well known to the public. 
And this is something that we need to work on, to better enhance communication and collaboration between the two journalistic communities. Last year, the South – East Europe Programme in co-operation with the Media Institute in Tirana hosted a trip of Albanian journalists in Athens but we need to make more towards this direction. After all, one of the key aims of the ALGREE project is to also build bridges among journalists. Our reports, research and opinion polls could serve as incentives and therefore, basis for an honest dialogue with the journalistic communities in both our countries. 

- As authors of the report but also as Greek citizens, what is your assessment of the Albanian migrant community in Greece and the Greek minority in Albania? Do you see them as bridges of stronger ties between the two countries, and how much can they influence politics to work for friendship instead of conflict between the two countries?  
Voudouri: I think that it is very well known that our two countries do not only share borders but also have two strong societal elements: the Greek minority in Albania and the Albanian community in Greece. The politics as well as the media however have failed to follow in the steps of people, who have very good relations. The media have also failed to bring relations between the two countries to the same level. 
Additionally, I strongly believe that societies can play an influential role in government’s policies. See, for instance, the recent change of the political atmosphere between Athens and Ankara.  The deadly earthquakes in Turkey and the fatal rail accident in central Greece have caused solidarity between the two peoples and a new period of improvement for the Greek-Turkish relations. 
But governments should not await tragic events to happen to use these as opportunities for the improvement of bilateral relations or the resolution of any open issue with neighbouring countries. Improving relations with neighbours should be part of a shared and continuous foreign policy vision by all political forces in our respective countries; to work for building strong ties between each other. It would be beneficial for the peoples of the two countries and also for the entire Balkan region. 

- Seen in the frame of the regional background which is the assessment of the Albanian – Greek relationship as compared to other countries of the Balkans?   
Voudouri: First of all, I think that our two countries are already experiencing a new chapter in their bilateral relations. The agreement in principle of our two governments to refer to the International Court of Justice sends a strong message to the international community and our Balkan region that international law is the basis for resolving all inter-state disputes. Additionally, Albania’s European course certainly creates new and multiple ways for both countries to extend their relations and to jointly overcome certain regional problems. 
One of the main goals of our project ALGREE is to highlight those elements that can improve the level of trust, understanding and cooperation between the two countries. Greece and Albania deserve, through their constantly improving relations for the sake of their peoples, to also become a model of relations for the countries of the wider Balkan region. 

- Let me touch upon the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia against the background of the EU mediated Ohrid ‘unsigned’ accord agreed upon in March this year having the support of the US. Do you think that there would be an end to the conflict between Pristina and Belgrade taking into consideration the increased efforts of Brussels and Washington in that direction, and secondly, how do you see the perspective of the Western Balkans as part of Europe?    
Voudouri: I think that the recent EU mediated agreement makes some progress on the unresolved question of mutual recognition, but certainly is not yet a roadmap to full normalisation. The fact that the two sides have not signed the text causes skepticism on how and when it would be implemented. However, it is also high time that the EU understands that its indecisiveness to enable Western Balkans states to advance their European integration ambitions is part of the reason for the unresolved issues in northern Kosovo. But I am also hopeful that the EU has the necessary tools to transform this new reality into a new dynamic in the region by setting out clearer prospects for accession for both Kosovo and Serbia. 

- And a final question, Greece, together with EU non-recogniser Slovakia, has recently abstained from the first vote in the process of Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe. How do you assess this move by the Greek diplomacy?   
Armakolas: Some analysts interpret this as a potential harbinger of a change in the Greek policy, which could lead to the recognition of the independence of Kosovo. I would advice against jumping into such easy conclusions. As I have shown in my chapter for an edited volume we published with British colleague James Ker-Lindsay (The Politics of Recognition and Engagement, published by Palgrave in 2020) Athens has on several occasions in the past adopted a middle-of-the-road policy when it comes to Kosovo’s membership in international organisations; a policy that, one should stress, was not unhelpful for Pristina’s international aspirations. Through this policy, Greece, among other aims, sought to differentiate itself from the more hardline anti-Kosovo independence stances of other EU non-recognisers, like Spain and Cyprus. 
For example, the SYRIZA-led government in 2015 also abstained from the vote on Kosovo’s UNESCO membership. Earlier, in 2012, Athens voted in favour of Kosovo’s membership in the EBRD. Greece also supported Kosovo’s membership in the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe. Moreover, Greece helped Pristina secure the necessary quorum for the votes in Kosovo’s successful bids to join the IMF and the World Bank. So, evidently, Greece’s stance in the recent Council of Europe vote is nothing new, regardless of the furore sparked by Serbian politicians’ severe anti-Greek statements in the last few days. 
By the same token, however, we should not interpret Greece’s abstaining in the Council of Europe vote as evidence that Athens is edging towards recognition of Kosovo. Greece has had many occasions in the past, which it could have used to recognise Kosovo’s independence. Instead, it only continued its policy of maintaining good relations with Pristina, without however taking the final step to recognise Kosovo. I have no doubt that this will eventually happen, since it is common perception in Athens, among decision makers and analysts alike, that Kosovo’s independence is irreversible. But, for now at least, I don't personally see much evidence of this happening soon.