Brussels, 15/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - A report recently commissioned of former Latvian president Vaira Vike-Freiberga by EU Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes recommends that the EU should be given more power over respect for freedom of the press and media pluralism. The European Parliament may follow suit on Thursday when the Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) decides on a draft resolution calling on the EU to closely monitor press freedom and support investigative journalism. Like Vide-Preiberga's report, the Parliament's initiative, headed by Renate Weber (ADLE, Romania), was sparked by the controversy of a recent Hungarian law clamping down on press freedom which itself gave rise to clashes between Hungary and the European Commission in 2011 and 2012, but a source at LIBE says that was not the only concern, as the draft report by Renate Weber paints a wider picture of media pluralism in Europe covering the situation in each member state. Several amendments to the Weber Report explicitly mention Hungary, while others talk about Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Italy and France, where journalists are said to be victims of violence and harassment. It is not clear which of these amendments will get voted through, explains the source.
The Weber Report recommends a series of measures, urging member states to ensure that there are transparent procedures for the appointment of top media managers and the management boards of media companies, based on merit and undeniable experience and avoiding any sectarian selection criteria. The report wants member states to ensure that public service media fully meet their special duty of providing reliable, detailed and high-quality news and to ensure that private media companies also comply with this. The current concentration of media companies must be limited, says the report, and the European Commission, along with the member states, should ensure there is full competition in order to prevent the emergence of dominant positions and in order to ensure new entrants can enter the market. There must be suitable rules for dealing with conflicts of interest and the report says journalists' independence must be protected and journalists given protection against in-house pressure from media proprietors and editors, or external lobbies, politicians and business figures. Full respect of the confidentiality of sources must be guaranteed, along with strict application of the European Convention of Human Rights. Investigative journalism must be supported and promoted, along with ethical journalism and the development of appropriate standards and appeals procedures. The Commission should set up a group of European broadcasting regulators to ensure respect of the above. The report commissioned by Kroes has generated criticism from British eurosceptic newspapers, which accuse the Commission of wanting to regulate the work of journalists. It is quite possible that similar criticisms will be levelled against the European Parliament's report. (SP/transl.fl)