Media ownership is concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, the future of publicly funded media is threatened, and politicians interfere more and more in media operations.
Press freedom has weakened in several EU countries.
This is revealed by the Berlin-based non-governmental organization Civil Liberties Union for Europe from a recent report.
The information in the report is based on research conducted by a total of 37 non-governmental organizations in 19 countries.
Freedom of the press is weakened by, among other things, the following factors: the concentration of ownership in an increasingly small number of people, weak regulation of the transparency of ownership, the weakening of the independence and funding of publicly funded media, harassment and intimidation of journalists, and the interference of politicians in the activities of the press.
The governments’ actions threaten the freedom of the press
– In many countries, the deterioration of press freedom in the EU is due to deliberate actions and omissions by governments, representative of the organization Eva Simon said In an interview with the Guardian newspaper.
According to the organization, for example in Greece, Hungary and Romania, the authorities direct public funding to those media that are more sympathetic to the government’s policies.
In Ireland, France and Slovenia, the future of publicly funded media is at stake. In Hungary, the country’s public radio practically acts as the government’s mouthpiece.
In Slovakia, the country’s new populist prime minister Robert Fico has completely cut ties with the four media, which he accuses of having a hostile attitude towards him.
Several countries have enacted laws that make it difficult to spread false information, which are used to silence journalists. According to the organization, this has happened, for example, in Greece.
Also in Western European countries, such as Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, the authorities have made it difficult for journalists to access public information.
EU legislation gives hope
Although the Civil Liberties Union for Europe is concerned about press freedom in Europe, the organization’s report also gives hope.
According to it, approved by the European Parliament in March and coming into force in 2025 media freedom act tackles many of the issues raised in the report.
Among other things, it obliges member states to protect the independence of the media and prohibits any form of interference in editorial decisions.
The law also stipulates that the public must find out who controls the media and which interests can influence reporting.
However, according to the organization, the media freedom act would be more effective if its control was the responsibility of the EU and not the member states.