Albanian President Ilir Meta has appealed for a careful reading of the Constitutional and legal arguments of his return to the parliament of the anti-defamation leagislation.

The President’s appeal came after the declarations of Taulant Balla, head of the Socialist Party parliamentary group, who said Meta returned the legislation per Democratic Party chairman Lulzim Basha’s order. Balla also said the parliament would reject Meta’s decree.

“The freedom of speech, the freedom of media, and the right for information, besides being fundamental constitutional rights, are closely related to the principle of establishing and functioning of a democratic state”, Meta said.

“In the last two years, Albania saw a regress of these indexes, according to reports of prestigious international journalists organizations and of the international institutions that monitor the media freedom”.

“It’s time to reflect against walking stubbornly in the path of censorship and authoritarianism, which would be a threat to Albania’s European future. I invite all to read with attention the constitutional and legal arguments for the return to the parliament of the so-called anti-defamation package”.