MFRR letter to Charles Michel: time for EU Member States to act to protect journalists
The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) sent a letter to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel in expressing serious concern about the sharp decline in freedom of the press in the European Union.
2020 was an unfortunate record year: MFRR recorded 245 alerts (with 873 attacked persons or entities related to media) in 22 EU Member States, and the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism recorded 115 media freedom violations in 27 EU Member States (the highest level since 2015).
According to MFRR data, nearly one in four incidents (23.7%) resulted in journalists and media workers being physically attacked. In more than every tenth incident (11.4%) media workers were injured.
The EU is not immune and has been profoundly shaken by a series of dramatic events, including the murders of journalists Daphne Caruana Galizia (2017) and Jan Kuciak (2018). European leaders should not wait for another murder before acting decisively. This is also crucial to set a much needed worldwide example.
