When they face flashing cameras and a myriad of questions from inquisitive journalists, who would love to catch them of-guard, they do not falter. They do not hesitate because, if they did, the mission could fail in the most public of ways.

Blerim Krasniqi and Irina Gudeljevic serve as the EULEX Albanian and Serbian spokespersons respectively. It is their duty to be out there in the trenches every day, managing the Mission’s relations with the media and the public in general.

Irina is a seasoned media professional who worked as a journalist for several years before the EU. She has always loved radio journalism. At elementary school, when she was just seven years old, she wrote an essay saying she wanted to become a radio journalist when she grew up. And that’s exactly what she did (for a while).

She eventually worked in four radio stations in Serbia. . She has always been in the business of shaping public opinion. “At the end of the day, I am happier if I give a statement that influences a housewife somewhere than a president or a prime minister” says Irina.

Blerim, on the other hand, wanted to become a doctor! It was only by chance when he started working for the Associated Press in 1999 that he found out what he really wanted to do. “I loved it so much from day one,” says Blerim. Since then he has worked for many international news organizations including the BBC and Reuters.

“Actually, I jumped back and forth many times from journalism to public relations,” says Blerim. “Even before I came here [to EULEX], I knew more or less what my job was going to be.”

In 1995, Blerim was a singer in a local band called ‘Colors’ and together they released the first Albanian rap song called “Keshtu jetojme” (“This is how we live”). “Colors was a reaction to the place and situation I found myself living in,” says Blerim. It was a tough time to succeed writing that sort of music and after a couple of released songs and an almost-finished album, the band broke up in 1999.

Irina came to Kosovo from Belgrade three years ago, and joined the post-graduate programme for journalism at the Kosovo Institute of Journalism and Communication (KIJAC). It was totally by chance that she met Blerim there; but their similar characters, openness and (black) sense of humor made them become instant friends instant.

“When I came to KIJAC, Blerim was one of the first people I met, and he was that type of person that you spend five minutes with and you know that you will be very good friends,” says Irina. “Even when we fight, we have a constructive fight, and at the end we just laugh about it.”

Irina and Blerim want to continue to work as spokespersons at EULEX, and they are definitely glad that they can have constructive debates with each other.

Together, they will continue to voice the Mission’s concerns, attitudes and positions related to various topics, as they help maintain a positive image with the general public – not always an easy job!