Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published, on Tuesday 20 April, its World Press Freedom Index for 2021 The latter reports significant disparities between the EU27 and worrying deteriorations.
It reports cases of attacks on journalists during demonstrations in Germany (13th out of 180) and France (34th), the lack of justice for crimes against journalists in Malta (81st) and Bulgaria (112th),and obstacles to media coverage of the migration issue in Spain (29th) and Greece (70th).
The organisation also looks at countries that “block” journalism, including Hungary (see EUROPE 12658/18), which now bans reporting in hospitals to combat disinformation.
RSF also denounces the government’s control of the Polish and Slovenian media (see EUROPE 12687/1). “The EU, for its part, seems powerless”, it regrets, pointing out that the “new mechanism put in place, which makes access to European funds conditional on respect for the Rule of law, does not take account of press freedom”.
The European Commission’s response to this issue has so far been largely limited to expressions of serious concern.
A few initiatives have been announced - a proposal against SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) (see EUROPE 12689/22) and recommendations on the safety of journalists (see EUROPE 12684/27) - but it is the Member States that control over the file.
On Monday, before the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT), the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, called for additional tools to be made available to the EU (see EUROPE 12675/7).
Among other things, he called for a European Media Freedom Act to ensure that media freedom remains a “pillar of our democracies”.
To see the 2021 ranking: https://bit.ly/3n2J1NH; and the Europe-specific analysis: https://bit.ly/3sA3Hh5 (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)