EU member states are still lagging regarding concrete measures to protect journalists two years after a relevant EU Commission recommendation, according to a Reporters Without Borders (RSF) report seen by Euractiv.
Meanwhile, Malta and Poland provided “vague” promises for action, RSF reported.
Following the murders of four journalists in Europe, the EU executive recommended member states should take concrete measures to face this critical reality.
However, according to an RSF report, severe shortcomings still exist in countries without implementing the European Commission’s two-year-old recommendation on journalists’ safety.
According to RSF, these countries must move quickly to “protect media professionals and combat impunity for violent crimes against them”.
“While we welcome the new commitments of some governments, there is nothing to celebrate on the second anniversary of the EU recommendation on the safety of journalists. We regret that the national authorities have learned few lessons from the murders of four European journalists and the multiple threats weighing on media professionals. We call on governments to speed up implementation of the 2021 recommendation,” Pavol Szalai, Head of RSF’s EU-Balkans desk, commented.
According to RSF, while some countries, such as Bulgaria and Slovakia, provided answers suggesting specific plans to be taken, others, such as Poland and Malta, remained “vague”.
RSF reported that the Maltese government replied that Valletta has “applied and is applying the measures enlisted by the European Commission” and is “determined to adopt legal changes.”
“But the Maltese government refuses to publish the report on press freedom reforms drafted by an advisory body on the adoption of the recommendations resulting from the public inquiry following Caruana Galizia’s murder in 2017,” RSF said.
In the case of Poland, which ranked 57th in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index, Warsaw authorities explained that the country already complied with many of the provisions in the European recommendation.
The Polish also said they are “collecting data on the best practices of other state institutions responsible for applying the recommendation before considering legislative amendments designed to improve Poland’s implementation”.
The RSF called on EU member states to take immediate action and speed up the implementation of the EU Commission’s recommendations focusing on four areas:
Conduct independent, effective and transparent investigations into crimes of violence against journalists; Create or support mechanisms for cooperating with journalists to improve their safety; Launch or support dedicated assistance services for threatened journalists; and last but not least, take specific measures for protecting journalists while covering protests.
(Sarantis Michalopoulos | Euractiv.com)
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