The Brief – The EU has a media freedom problem

The EU likes to think of itself as the birthplace and guardian of the free media, but at least once a year, it has a chance to look the truth in the face – and it’s not pretty.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published their annual World Press Freedom Index on Friday, and while it’s no surprise that the situation in Europe is deteriorating, we also need to recognise that we, journalists, need to do more to hold power to account.

According to the 2023-24 report, nine EU countries, or one-third of the bloc — Italy, Poland, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Malta, and Greece — are categorised as ‘problematic’. That is two more than the previous year.

The other two-thirds are ranked as ‘satisfactory’ and ‘good’, but many of them, including Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Czechia, Slovakia, Austria, Romania, and even France, saw drops in their scores. Those that improved are in the minority, with tiny increases.

RSF called out politicians for throttling independent media, with Hungary’s ‘pro-Kremlin’ Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Slovakia’s Robert Fico, the Maltese Labour Party (S&D) government, New Democracy (EPP) in Greece, and Giorgia Meloni in Italy, all “at the forefront of this dangerous trend.”

It also nodded to the “crusade against independent journalism” by Russia, with the threat of disinformation and censorship spreading far beyond its borders.

But it’s not just national leaders and domestic issues causing the deterioration of media freedom in Europe.

The EU is falling short

While 2023 saw the European Media Freedom Act and the Anti-SLAPP Directive (‘Daphne’s Law), both fell short of offering full protection for journalists, be it from governments wanting to surveil our communications or SLAPPs that do not have a cross-border element.

We must also note that of the six journalists murdered in EU countries over the last decade – Lyra McKee (Ireland), Daphne Caruana Galizia (Malta), Giorgos Karaivaz (Greece), Sokratis Giolias (Greece), Jan Kuciak (Slovakia), and Peter R. de Vries (Netherlands) – not one of them has received justice at the time of writing.

On another remark, in the RSF report, Greece is described as the worst performing country in press freedom issues for a third consecutive year. EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said nothing about this at the official launch of her EU campaign in Athens. Instead, she praised the Greek prime minister.

Another issue is the right to information, particularly crucial in the context of upcoming EU elections and numerous local and national votes due this year. But again, the EU is not leading by example.

If I contact a drug lord, oligarch, or corrupt official for comment, I do not necessarily expect a reply. But when I contact the European Commission, I do.

Over the years, I have had a number of my questions ignored by various EU institutions, directorate generals, or spokespeople. When they do reply, they do so selectively, issuing blanket statements that do not adequately address the questions. 

They choose what topics they want to discuss, and we often publish their statements ad verbatim, rarely taking the time to pick them apart or even fact-check them. Meanwhile, multiple instances of a lack of transparency come and go and little seems to change.

It has reached the point where journalists dealing with EU institutions – who should be the prime upholders of democratic standards – have simply stopped asking the tough questions because we know we won’t get a straight answer.

The EU is not a beacon of truth: Its officials are politicians and diplomats after all, and whether they sit in Berlaymont, Berlin, or Bucharest, they are accountable to citizens who pay their salaries.

Journalism under threat

Journalism is under threat from foreign malign influence, AI, politics, big business, crime, terrorism, the underworld, and even the ‘good guys’ in Brussels.

As journalists, we need to step up our game, demand answers to tough questions, and not act as PR for EU institutions. And we need support from our bosses and owners, too.

It’s well and good to point fingers at Orban and Meloni, but if we continue letting our own standards slip, the state of our democracy will keep backsliding.

The Roundup

The EU and NATO condemned on Friday “malicious cyber activities” against Germany and Czechia, which they said were likely carried out by a Russian cyber espionage group.

Eurostat published its latest data on estimated life expectancy on Friday and there is good news: We have gained an extra 0.9 years on 2022.

On a visit to Saint-Nazaire on Thursday, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire outlined the government’s strategy for deploying 45 GW of offshore wind power by 2050, with half of this capacity made in Europe.

The EU Prosecutor is doing a good job in investigating cases related to the rule of law as Greek citizens mistrust domestic justice and the conservative New Democracy government (EPP), Greece’s main opposition Syriza party (EU Left) leader Stefanos Kasselakis told Euractiv in an interview.

For more policy news, check out this week’s Tech Brief, Agrifood Brief, and the Economy Brief.

Look out for…

• Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participates in trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Paris on Monday.
• Foreign Affairs Council (Development) on Tuesday.
• Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council on Tuesday.

Views are the author’s

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]