The EU Investigative Journalism Award was presented at the EU Info Centre in Sarajevo on March 24. This is the first regional award for investigative stories that will, with the support of the European Union, be awarded in the Western Balkans and Turkey between 2015 and 2017. The EU Investigative Journalism Award will be awarded in each of the seven EU candidate countries and potential candidate countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, F. Y. R. Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey for investigative stories published in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Head of Communication and Spokesperson of the EU Delegation/EUSR, Andy McGuffie, said: “Freedom of expression is one of the key indicators of a country’s readiness to join the EU, because it implies a commitment to democracy, political accountability and good governance while the freedom of the media is a current issue in BiH. Ensuring freedom of media is one of the main challenges faced by BiH and other countries in the enlargement process.”

In this year’s call for submissions from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is open from 24 March to 23 April 2015, investigative stories on the abuse of power and violations of fundamental rights, corruption and organized crime released on TV and radio or in print and online media in BiH in 2014 are eligible. The call for investigative stories with instructions for registration will be available on the web sites: www.media.ba and www.mediaobservatory.net.

The prize money for the seven beneficiary countries for three years amounts to a total of 210,000 EUR. This year’s prize for Bosnia and Herzegovina for the achievements in 2014 amounts to 10,000 EUR. In 2015, prizes will be awarded for up to three best stories. In cooperation with Guardian Foundation, the best investigative story in the region will be chosen from the winners of the prize in all seven countries.

The award in BiH is coordinated by the Media Centar Sarajevo, and the regional network is led by the Peace Institute in Ljubljana. The associate partner of the programme is the Guardian Foundation from the UK.

For further information, please contact the project coordinator at the Media Centar Lidija Pisker at: lidija@media.ba or 033 715 840.