On World Press Freedom Day, we celebrate the essential role of a free press not only as a conveyor of reliable and accurate news but as a pillar of democracy, Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative, said on Thursday.

The UN General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression stipulated under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

France must focus on the Western Balkans which have become “a diplomatic dead end”, French European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau said, the Belgrade-based Beta news agency reported.

She told the French daily newspaper La Croix that the European Union has not engaged itself sufficiently in reinforcing the peace in the reigon. “Things can either go in a good direction or in a bad one” but there can be no status quo, she said.

There are no daily Serbian newspapers in Kosovo today either, Tanjug news agency reports.

Zvezdan Mihajlovic from “KIM Beokolp” company, responsible for distribution of the Serbian newspapers in Kosovo, told Tanjug news agency that Kosovo customs officials did not allow transport of the newspapers through Jarinje crossing point, due to allegedly irregular documentation.

The EFJ has launched a video campaign to raise awareness about the poor working conditions of journalists and media workers in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

International organizations’ reports treat Kosovo as a partially free society for the work of journalists, Editor-in-Chief of RTV KIM, Goran Avramovic said in a broadcast “Sporazum”.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic spoke on Wednesday with OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir.