25/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Hungary should use Council of Europe standards to ensure freedom of expression. “Hungarian media must be able to perform their role as watchdog in a pluralistic democratic society. In order to achieve this, Hungary should abide by its commitments as a member state of the Council of Europe and make the most of the organisation's expertise in the fields of freedom of expression and media independence and pluralism”, said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, on 25 February. He was expressing concerns about the recent Hungarian media law (restrictions on content, the establishment of a politically biased regulatory machinery with disproportionate powers and lack of full judicial supervision, threats to the independence of public service broadcasting and erosion of the protection of journalists' sources). (L.C./transl.fl)