On Thursday 6 November, the European Commission “categorically” stated that it had “no contact” with the Italian press agency Agenzia Nova, which recently sacked journalist Gabriele Nunziati for asking the EU institution whether Israel should be asked to pay for the destruction of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip – a question the agency said reflected a misunderstanding of international law.
“The European Commission attaches the utmost importance to freedom of the press. We demonstrate this attachment every day in this press room”, said the Commission’s deputy spokesman, Olof Gill, confirming that “no contact has taken place between anyone at the European Commission and the media in question”.
Expressing his “solidarity” with Mr Nunziati, MEP Gaetano Pedullà (Italian, The Left) said in a statement that he was convinced the Italian journalist would not give in to “insidious forms of censorship that weaken free and independent journalism”. He called for the matter to be fully investigated, in particular to find out whether the management of the Italian agency had been subjected to “external pressure [that] influenced this decision”.
The 'European Federation of Journalists' described Mr Nunziati's dismissal as “shocking” and a “blatant disregard” for press freedom. “At a time when journalism is struggling to remain independent, newsrooms must stand by their journalists, not betray them for fulfilling their duty to the public”,’ it added.
(Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)