WAZ.EUobserver testimonials
16.04.2010 @ 09:26 CET
Stefan Fuele, commissioner for enlargement and european neighbourhood policy
"It has been said that during war, truth is the first casualty. In post-conflict times, therefore, truth, side by side with reconciliation, is a cornerstone of stabilisation. Independent, free and vibrant media has a crucial role to play in this respect. Between the countries of the region, the media can help in combating prejudice and intolerance. Between the region and the EU, the media can help in increasing knowledge and fighting misconceptions and false expectations. In both cases, the gains for the region and for the EU are immeasurable."
Martin Schulz: "I am confident WAZ group, with fair and critical coverage, will contribute to establishing independent media structures." (Photo: European Parliament)
Martin Schulz, leader of the Socialist group in the European Parliament
"Without a doubt, the European Union is the future of the Western Balkan states. The prospect of joining the EU guarantees stability, freedom and prosperity in the whole region. The terms of EU entry have already, before negotiations proper, brought about numerous positive changes, democratic and economic reforms in particular. As the EU commission underlined in its recent report on enlargement, the countries of the region still have to catch up on some key issues like the rule of law, functioning administrative structures and the fight against corruption, as well as freedom of speech and freedom of the press. All the more, I welcome the commitment of the WAZ Media Group, with its WAZ.EUobserver Focus on South East Europe. I am confident WAZ group, with fair and critical coverage, will contribute to establishing independent media structures. This will help to stabilise democracy in the region and bring the Western Balkans closer to Europe."
Elmar Brok, German MEP, foreign policy spokesman of the Christian Democrat Group in the European Parliament
"Southeast Europe is often put on a level with the 'dark Balkans.' People in the EU don't know enough about the cultural variety and the European disposition of this region. Thanks to this new information service, they can move closer and find out more about this undiscovered part of Europe."
Kinga Goncz, Hungarian MEP, former minister of foreign affairs
"The establishment of the European Union started as a project of building peace and stability in the continent. The European integration has created the longest ever period of peace in the history of Europe. We do know from our own experience that the accession to the EU in itself is a strong instrument to promote and safeguard security and stability, also in the region of Western Balkans."
Vasko Naumovski, vice president of the government of Macedonia in charge of EU integration
"One of the key elements of the process of the European integration of the Balkans is good information for the public in all its aspects. That is why I think that this web site is a very useful tool for the region and for the EU actors involved in this process. The topics I found on the site are very well analysed and balanced, the information comes from their sources. There is also a regional character which gives an added value to the whole concept. All of us who deal with the European integration of the Balkan states will, there is no doubt, collect useful information by visiting this site regularly. I would just like to suggest more attention to be paid to topics from the culture, art or civil sectors."
Doris Pack, German MEP, head of the European Parliament's delegation for the West Balkans
"This new service helps bringing Southeast Europe closer to the EU. People don't know enough about each other and often they focus on the differences instead of the similarities. The European perspective of this region can be backed by innovative online services."
Ilir Dugolli, ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo
"With huge curiosity I checked the WAZ.EUobserver portal at its inception, a couple of months ago. Since then the portal has become one of my standard online resources and a regular point of reference. In a short period of time, WAZ.EUobserver portal has clearly imposed itself as a reliable source of information on relations between EU and the region of the Western Balkans.
While sources of available information for developments pertaining to the EU and Western Balkans are rich and plentiful, the WAZ.EUobserver site has managed to provide in one single place the most up-do-date information. As such, WAZ.EUobserver has definitely managed to fill a significant vacuum and bring an added value to the plethora of existing media outlets. So far, I find WAZ.EUobserver's information and analysis timely, extremely objective and truly useful. With that in mind, I can only hope that great work will continue and the site will be enriched further."
Ovidiu Dranga, Romania's ambassador to Belgium
"This new site is a novelty in the media landscape. It offers information that is more than useful: it is compelling, it stimulates the reader's appetite for a 'supplement.' It brings something more about a part of Europe usually ignored by other media and about which, unfortunately, the majority of Europeans know very little."
Ivica Bocevski, former vice president for EU integration of the government of Macedonia, now in charge of EU relations in the Liberal Democratic Party
"WAZ.EUobserver has become one of my primary sources of information about the EU-South East Europe affairs in recent days. The creators of the site have specifically targeted the stratum of politicians, analysts, journalists, academics and professionals from the region, offering them insight and in-depth stories about EU-related matters and the relations between the EU and the SEE countries. Although the hunger for EU-related stories is great, so far the site promises a 'breath of fresh air.' It is obvious that the diversity of the WAZ-media corps in Brussels is creating very vivid and colorful dynamics. In the future, I would like WAZ.EUobserver to serve as a place for debate, dialogue and exchange of opinion among the leaders, opinion-makers and academics from the region and their respective European peers.
Although the countries of the region are very different politically and at various stages of European integration, there is a very low (and unacceptable) level of co-operation and exchange in the realm of ideas, including the topics of the European Integration. So, establishing the WAZ.EUobserver as a forum for exchanging ideas and opinion can potentially have a very big impact on deepening co-operation and improving the level of confidence in the region.
The future of the European Integration requires the creation of the European public sphere. Translating and disseminating topics of interest from all these countries would be a major South East European contribution to a future European public sphere. Europe needs to broaden the dialogue with the region and the WAZ.EUobserver can potentially serve as a focal point of this endeavour.
