As promised in its Action Plan for Democracy (see EUROPE 12615/1), the European Commission has drawn up a series of recommendations on the safety of journalists, which it is expected to make public on Thursday 16 September.
According to our information, these recommendations addressed to the Member States should, among other things, encourage them to work on the protection of women journalists and on dialogue between the press and the police.
Several recommendations are expected to concern women journalists specifically and, more broadly, all journalists “belonging to minority groups” or “working on equality-related issues”.
In order to ensure the protection of these journalists, the European Commission is expected to call on the EU-27 to support them through dedicated projects or awareness-raising campaigns and to better address the attacks and discrimination against them. The European Commission should also advocate for appropriate responses to victims.
The recommendations could also include a call to promote equality and inclusion in the media industry and newsrooms.
Protection at demonstrations and reporting to law enforcement
Another component of the recommendations is expected to focus on the need to strengthen the safety of journalists covering demonstrations or protests.
In this respect, the European Commission is likely to call for the development of methods for the safe visual identification of journalists at such events. In addition, several provisions are expected to concern the police.
In particular, the EU-27 could be asked to ensure good communication between journalists and law enforcement agencies and to ensure that the latter are trained to ensure public safety while protecting journalists and their ability to work.
European Media Freedom Act
In addition, further specific recommendations are expected concerning online safety and illegal surveillance of journalists.
General recommendations are also expected to be made regarding the economic and social protection of journalists, their access to press conferences or documents, and the sheltering and legal support of journalists at risk.
According to information obtained by EUROPE, these recommendations should also formalise the future publication of a European Media Freedom Act - a project mentioned by the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, last April (see EUROPE 12702/28).
The document, expected on Thursday, is the result of several days of discussions organised in March between the European Commission, MEPs and representatives of European ministries, as well as journalists and associations representing them (see EUROPE 12684/27). (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)