Brussels, 11/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - Given the recent proliferation of anti-terrorist laws, the European Union must defend press freedom, said William Horsley, a member of the Association of European Journalists, on Monday 4 May. "The European Union must increase its commitment to the freedom of expression, but this is not one of its priorities for the time being", he said, referring to a number of attacks on press freedom by the governments of United Kingdom, France and Italy. "The EU must also ensure that standards of quality and independence of the media are observed by countries wishing to join the Union, in the same way as they have to observe the criteria for justice and the internal market", continued the former BBC journalist. Mr Horsley implied that he felt that the European Commission had not been sufficiently vigilant to problems on press freedom in countries which recently joined the Union, such as Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovenia. He stressed that these mistakes must not be repeated for future members, such as Turkey and the Balkans countries. A ministerial conference of the Council of Europe on the media and new communication services will take place in Reykjavik on 28 and 29 May. This meeting will provide the opportunity to take stock of the situation in the Member States of the Council of Europe and to discuss new ways of protecting the freedom of the media against the backdrop of the fight against terrorism. “The anti-terrorist laws should not be at the cost of the freedom of the media”, said Torbjorn Froysnes, the Special Representative of the Council of Europe to the Union, on the World Press Freedom Day, on 3 May. “The right to receive and communicate information freely is vital under all circumstances in a democratic society but, at times of crisis, such as in the event of terrorist attacks, it becomes even more important”, he said. (B.C./trans.fl)