During its plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday, 11 July, the European Parliament adopted—with 583 votes in favour, 7 against, and 48 abstentions—a report calling on the EU to better protect journalists around the world (see EUROPE 13187/25).
Drafted by Isabel Wiseler-Lima (EPP, Luxembourgian), the text notes the threats to freedom of the press. It thus presents a series of recommendations, ranging from promoting media literacy to including media freedom in partnership agreements between non-EU countries and either Member States or the European Commission.
It also calls on the European External Action Service (EEAS) and EU delegations in non-EU countries to implement emergency plans for journalists in danger, including prison visits and trial assistance. “A lot of things are already in place [on the EEAS’s side of things] but not in a systematic way and not in all delegations”, the rapporteur explained to EUROPE.
The report also condemns the use of SLAPPs and calls for the new ‘anti-SLAPP’ directive (see other news) to effectively protect EU-based journalists from lawsuits initiated by authorities in non-EU countries.
Finally, the text laments the deployment of spyware on devices belonging to members of the press. However, in its position on the [European] Media Freedom Act (EMFA), the Council of the EU has introduced an exception to the ban on deploying such software against journalists in the event there is a threat to national security (see EUROPE 13207/28). Asked about this issue, Mrs Wiseler-Lima believes that States must be able to protect themselves against threats but that using such software needs to remain “the exception of the exception of the exception”.
See the adopted report: https://aeur.eu/f/7zy (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)