Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has written to the European Commission in response to the latest annual Rule of Law Report in the EU27 (see EUROPE 13460/1), calling on Rome to guarantee the independence of the judiciary as part of the government’s planned reform of the justice system, and to ensure good working conditions for journalists, while also respecting the independence of public service journalists, Italian media reported on Monday 29 July.
On 24 July, the Vice-President of the Commission responsible for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, expressed her concern about the situation of the media in the country and about attempts to intimidate RAI journalists and budget cuts.
In her response, Giorgia Meloni stated that political figures had “held ‘without shame’ positions within the public broadcaster for decades”.
Her government, for its part, is committed to freedom of information, the fight against disinformation and pluralism, with the Italian Prime Minister also accusing the Commission of feeding fake news about media freedom in Italy.
The European Commission had not confirmed receipt of this letter by the time of going to press. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)