Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti has described the sharp drop on the 2025 World Press Freedom Index as „regrettable,“ while shifting the blame from his government to the media themselves.
Kurti made his first public comments on the report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) only at the end of the week, during a meeting of the main board of his Vetëvendosje movement. The report had already generated major public attention earlier in the week, following its release ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3.
Kosovo was ranked 99th out of 180 countries in this year’s Index, a drop of 24 places from the previous year and the lowest position in the region. The report sparked wide reactions among journalists, civil society groups, and international organizations.
“The drop in the media index is regrettable. In Kosovo, there is freedom of expression and media freedom – I am a witness to that based on my personal experience and life here. This decline contradicts the reality we live in, and this contradiction should be clarified by the media themselves,” Kurti said, Ekonomia Online reported.
He emphasized that, unlike previous administrations, his cabinet does not include media owners and that relations between institutions and journalists remain “distanced and professional.”
“The media in Kosovo are free. Their decline is not the result of government control, but rather the consequence of media ownership influence and a lack of professionalism. We view the media as a societal asset, but the media themselves must treat their profession as a responsibility,” Kurti added.
His response comes days after the AGK (Association of Journalists of Kosovo) held an emergency press conference outside government offices, directly accusing Vetëvendosje and Kurti of undermining press freedom. Several government-linked figures responded by attacking AGK and its leadership, with some also attempting to discredit RSF’s methodology.
Vetëvendosje stated today on its official Facebook page while quoting Kurti’s speech, that, during its four years in power, Kosovo made significant progress in international democracy and governance rankings, including Transparency International, Freedom House, and the World Justice Project. The only decline was in the media freedom index. The party emphasized that the government has withdrawn all political influence from the media, its funding, and ensured no media owners hold government positions, stressing that improvements in the media sector are now the responsibility of the media themselves.
Pavol Szalai, head of RSF’s EU-Balkans desk, said the political response to the report only confirms RSF’s assessment.
“What happened after the release of the Index confirms our findings: government attempts to question the credibility of the media,” Szalai told KoSSev. “Instead of questioning the Index’s methodology, the government should propose systemic measures to protect press freedom.”
Szalai cited the case of T7 journalist Genc Godanci, who said he was blocked from asking the Prime Minister a question about the report, as well as mounting attacks on AGK after its public statement. He emphasized that Kosovo had suffered the sharpest media freedom decline in Europe this year, moving from the “problematic” into the “difficult” category.
RSF’s report also highlighted growing political interference in public broadcasters, worsening legal conditions—exemplified by the now-overturned Independent Media Commission law—and increased pressure on Serbian-language media. The report further criticized lack of transparency in media ownership and funding, as well as the fragile economic sustainability of outlets operating in both Albanian and Serbian media spheres.
The European Federation of Journalists strongly condemned the reactions of Vetëvendosje members, describing Kurti as an “accomplice” in what it called a “disgusting campaign” against journalists.
While Kurti was silent in the days immediately following the Index’s release, his party and government officials had responded earlier in the week by questioning the objectivity of the report and accusing media actors of misinformation and unprofessionalism. Government spokesperson Perparim Kryeziu stated that the findings were “hard to reconcile with the reality on the ground” and said the government would send a letter to RSF to “clarify the situation.”
Szalai rejected that response, stating: “The authorities should propose systemic measures to protect press freedom, which is in the interest of citizens’ right to trustworthy information and Kosovo’s EU integration.”
He also compared the current situation to that of Serbia, noting the two are closely ranked—with Kosovo at 99th and Serbia at 96th—but warned that a stronger feeling of insecurity exists in Kosovo, likely due to a weaker institutional response to threats and attacks on journalists.
Despite slightly better economic conditions for the media compared to Serbia, RSF found that all five of its key media freedom indicators had declined for Kosovo, especially the political and socio-cultural ones. Szalai stressed that the media environment has been undermined by political attacks, selective media engagement during elections, and poor protections for press independence.
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