In an article published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 11 February 2009, Michael Stabenow rightly rages against a European Commission internal document that equates journalists with spies. Like any other public institution, the European Commission has to protect itself against espionage and, in the case of the Commission, against economic and industrial espionage in particular. The secrecy surrounding the work of the competition department is perfectly understandable. But are spies likely to masquerade as journalists? Nothing could be less certain but spies certainly do masquerade as lobbyists, diplomats, officials, the military and so on. This way of casting aspersions on the entire press corps in Brussels is particularly unhealthy because the Commission has gradually upped its drawbridge and become a fortress in recent years. It is also unhealthy because accreditation as a journalist is liable to let non-journalists slip through, and it is also unhealthy because of violations of press freedom - like the arbitrary arrests of journalists, the abuse of procedures (Michael Stabenow quotes the Tillack case) and challenging the protection of journalists' sources that is ensured by the European Convention on Human Rights - are becoming widespread in Belgium, France and other EU countries. (O.J/transl.fl.)