Attacks against journalists and limited access to public interest information are profoundly affecting media freedom in Europe, according to a network of civil liberties NGOs.
“Media freedom and pluralism still stand perilously close to the breaking point in many EU countries, and must be almost fully resuscitated,” Liberties said in its annual report, which studied 19 countries across the EU.
Harassment of media workers has a “chilling effect” on their ability to hold powerful actors to account, the Berlin-based network said, adding that women journalists face a disproportionate volume of attacks — especially online.
In 2023, 281 attacks against women journalists and media workers were recorded in EU member and candidate countries, according to the Mapping Media Freedom initiative.
The Liberties report also slammed limited access to public interest information across EU countries, including Germany, Hungary, Lithuania and the Netherlands.
“Some governments continue to refuse journalists access either to documents or events,” it reads. “In Hungary, journalists’ inquiries from the press to public authorities go unanswered. Formal freedom of information requests also tend to go unanswered, or are fulfilled only years later.”
In March, the European Media Freedom Act — an EU-level bid to safeguard media freedom, media pluralism and editorial independence in the bloc — received its final sign-off from EU institutions.
However, Liberties was critical of its efficacy. “The EMFA falls short of tackling numerous pressing issues within the European media landscape and addresses only a limited number of threats to media freedom and pluralism,” the report says.
Media freedom ‘close to breaking point’ in many EU countries, report warns
Source: Viral Showbiz Pinay
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