SUMMIT ADVOCACY
MEDIA WOES: With EU leaders in Slovenia for a summit on the Western Balkans earlier this week, media advocates saw a chance to lobby them on protecting press freedom — both inside and outside the EU.
Eyes on candidate countries: Ahead of the summit, advocacy organization Reporters Without Borders pushed for more attention on the journalism landscape in countries hoping to become EU members, which includes the Balkan nations.
Boosting media freedom: “Support for investigative
and professional journalism in the Balkans is an essential remedy to help the region combat two of its leading problems — corruption and the COVID-19 pandemic,” Pavol Szalai, the head of RSF’s EU/Balkans desk, said in a statement ahead of the summit. “The EU should undoubtedly be more ambitious in its use of the seduction it exerts over the Western Balkans in order to enable the region’s citizens to have access to more reliable news and information.”
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Slovenian journalists speak out: Some summit attendees were concerned about the state of democracy closer to home. “The country that is presiding the Council of the European Union is basically not abiding to the rule of law principle,” said Mihael Šuštaršič, a journalist at the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), referencing his home country’s government, which hosted the summit as part of its rotating EU presidency.
Summit solidarity action: Multiple local journalists showed up to the summit’s closing press conference with EU leaders in shirts displaying solidarity with STA, who critics say is on the verge of financial collapse due to pressure from the government of Prime Minister Janez Janša. Slovenia’s leadership has rejected accusations that it is undermining press freedom.
CONSULTANCY CORNER
NEW APCO CHIEF: EU Influence caught up with Paolo Compostella, who recently took over as the Europe region president for global comms firm APCO. Compostella has a globe-trotting politico eu influence: press freedom hangs over eu summit — apco’s europe plans background, with stints working in places like Brussels, London, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Reconnecting with Europe: The new president moved to his current role after serving as managing director of APCO’s Italy offices. Setting up the firm’s Italian operations is “probably the most hongkongdata important thing I’ve done because I’ve started from zero,” he said. “Now we are probably the market leader with 60 people two offices in Milan and Rome.” But coming to Brussels, he added, will let him “reconnect to the European agenda.”
New aims: In his new role, Compostella wants to promote the firm’s “integrated campaign model — so the idea of tackling certain issues not in silos.”
Competing for talent: “We are a people’s business,” Compostella said. “So my effort will be a lot also on keeping our great talent” and finding new ways “to sustain our growth,” he said. Attracting talent, however, is a challenge, according to Compostella. “There is a lot of pressure,” he said. “The market is extremely competitive at the moment, especially because we see big corporations making massive investments in our space.”
