Watchdogs say press freedom in the EU is under threat

Europe is no longer as safe for journalists to work as press freedom across the bloc has deteriorated in recent years, which has made it hard for reporters and photographers to be properly exercised.
The Association of European Journalists, the organisation that compiled the report on journalists’ safety in the EU, has called for the individual governments of Europe and the EU institutions to better respect to press freedom and journalistic independence.
Following a meeting in Paris in late December, the association, or AEJ as it is commonly known, sharply criticised the EU for not doing enough to guarantee journalists’ safety as well as Europe’s long-standing stance on freedom of the press.
European journalists have the advantage of being able to carry out their profession in a generally privileged environment compared to other regions of the world, but an increasing number of verbal and violent attacks have occurred in the last several years. The toxic environment has led to a drop in press freedom across Europe and soured relations between the media industry and many EU governments.
Over the past five years, more than 640 cases of violence against journalists have been reported in the Council of Europe, 60 of which have taken place in 27-member European Union, according to the AEJ, the European Federation of Journalists, the Reporters Without Borders, and the 11 other partner organisations of the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism.
The 60 acts of violence against journalists across the EU include 14 murders of professionals in France, Poland, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Malta.
The AEJ called out public authorities in several European countries, as they appear to be the main source of the threats. 57% of the press freedom violation cases, while allegations about breaches of the rule of law across Europe have made journalists more vulnerable to being targeted by politicians. Reporters, especially investigative journalists in Europe, are in danger because of physical attacks and death threats by criminal organisations.
Organisations like the AEJ have demanded that Europe’s political leaders and EU institutions to help put an end to the legal harassments and gag orders that have become more common in the European Union over the course of the last decade and have specifically targeted both public and privately-held news agencies.
Brussels cannot, in the view of the report, remain on the sidelines and refuse to take a forceful stand against the number of exorbitant criminal cases that have resulted in including prison sentences and defamation lawsuits against journalists who report on sensitive or controversial topics, including corruption.
Public service broadcasting, which has also come under pressure recently, must remain independent of state editorial and personnel interference and continue to play its role as a source of information for the public citizens. This prompted the Association of European Journalists has called for the creation of an effective early warning mechanism against any violation of press freedom, a move that would be in line with the Council of Europe’s planned platform to strengthen the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists.
Addition recommendations that the EU must look into include the creation of educational programmes for primary and secondary school students that would focus on the media industry and the core concepts of press freedom. Brussels has also been told by the free press watchdogs that Europe’s Ombudsman must ensure that the EU institutions and the bloc’s 27 constituent members are in full compliance with the European Charter of Fundamental Rights when it pertains to protecting Europe’s thousands of journalists.
The Council of Europe is in the position to and must take appropriate measures to ensure the adoption of the United Nations’ international convention which would guarantee the safety and full independence of all media professionals, regardless of whether they are staff members or freelance. Moreover, the Council was called out by the AEJ for failing to proceed with the creation of a mandate for the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Journalists’ Safety.
In its report, the AEJ reiterated that the role of a free media is to work in line with the principles of independence and neutrality, both of which are crucial for democracy so that they can act as a safeguard as a counter to the authoritarian impulses of existing governing bodies.