The subject of media freedom has emerged as the latest test to the EU\u2019s\u00a0values and unity, with isolated but serious challenges to the press and independent media across a\u00a0number of member states yet to be met with a\u00a0firm response by the bloc. Over the last few months alone, the proposal of a\u00a0controversial media advertisement tax in Poland, the end of broadcasting by independent radio station Klubr\u00e1di\u00f3 in Hungary, reports of a\u00a0\u201cwar on the media\u201d by Slovenian PM Janez Jan\u0161a, and interference in the independence of the public broadcaster in the Czech Republic have brought the issue to the fore. There are also grave concerns about media ownership and political influence in Bulgaria and Greece.<\/p>\n
Most recently, the Polish Government has launched one of the most brazen attacks on media freedom by steering legislation through the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament, which will ban foreign companies from owning media outlets. This has been widely interpreted as an attempt to throttle the independence of the most influential private TV station, TVN, in which Warner Brothers holds a\u00a0majority shareholding. If confirmed by the Senate and the President, it will force Warner Brothers\u2019 filial, Discovery, to sell its holding. Jaros\u0142aw Kaczyn\u0301ski, the power behind the throne of government, has called this \u201cthe re-polonisation of the media\u201c. We warmly support the more than 1,000 of our Polish colleagues who have signed an open letter protesting against the new law.<\/p>\n
Until now the EU has been slow to respond to the attacks on media freedom in several member states and has rightly faced criticism for its inaction. In a\u00a0European Parliament debate in March, a\u00a0number of MEPs condemned Poland, Hungary and Slovenia over their attempts to restrict independent media. Commissioner V\u011bra Jourov\u00e1 on that occasion responded by calling for more tools to protect journalists and independent media, lamenting the \u201climited\u201d options currently available to the executive.<\/p>\n
Yet the situation continues to deteriorate. The most recent World Press Freedom Index published in April this year by Reporters Without Borders saw Slovenia, Poland, and Hungary all fall in their media freedom rankings, with the watchdog noting the EU’s\u00a0existing mechanisms have not been able to stop the “draconian measures” taken in some member states.<\/p>\n
In the Czech Republic, there are growing concerns over government interference in the public broadcaster, Czech Television. Opposition MPs voiced criticism of the selection process for new members to sit on the Czech Television Council after the Electoral Committee of the Czech Parliament\u2019s\u00a0Chamber of Deputies whittled down a\u00a0list of 56 applicants to a\u00a0dozen shortlisted names, featuring a\u00a0number of candidates critical of the broadcaster’s\u00a0current management and work. The Council has the power to have the CEO dismissed, something opposition MPs believe is the government\u2019s\u00a0aim. The European Broadcasting Union has expressed its concern about the situation, warning the independence of Czech Television is under threat and noting “the increasing politicisation of its governing body” alongside efforts to “undermine” the broadcaster’s\u00a0current management.<\/p>\n
Bulgaria represents the nadir of media freedom not just in the EU but well beyond as it stands at 112th in this year\u2019s\u00a0World Press Freedom Index. Here the oligopoly controlling the great majority of media outlets cooperate openly with impunity. There is overwhelming evidence that journalists sacked for refusing to tow an editorial line will find it impossible to secure employment elsewhere. The extreme narrowing of editorial opinion in Bulgaria has taken place chiefly during the long Prime Ministership of Boyko Borissov. Both elections held this year were inconclusive and a\u00a0caretaker government is now running the country. In advance of a\u00a0probable third poll in December, the European Union must impress upon any incoming administration that it is actively screening media plurality in the country.<\/p>\n
In neighbouring Greece, in addition to the concentration of much of the media in the hands of a\u00a0small group of oligarchs, several of whom have alleged criminal connections, there is the additional fear of violence against journalists. In April this year, veteran reporter Giorgos Karaivaz was shot dead near his house in Athens in an act with the hallmarks of a\u00a0mafia-style execution. Meanwhile, police are investigating reports of a\u00a0conspiracy to assassinate another leading journalist, Kostas Vaxevanis. These disturbing trends in Greece underline how dangerous it has become within the EU to investigate corporate malfeasance on a\u00a0grand scale as the murders of J\u00e1n\u00a0Kuciak and Daphne Caruana Galizia in Slovakia and Malta respectively have already\u00a0demonstrated. More recently, we were deeply saddened to hear of the murder of the courageous Dutch investigative reporter, Peter de Vries, in July this year.<\/p>\n
In February, one of Hungary\u2019s\u00a0last remaining independent radio stations, Klubr\u00e1di\u00f3, finally came off air following an 8-year battle, after being stripped of its broadcast licence. In a\u00a0written response, the European Commission said the case had only \u201cdeepened their worries\u201d about Hungary, adding they had \u201cencouraged\u201d Hungary to allow Klubr\u00e1di\u00f3 to continue to use its frequency. But the station had first sought EU assistance as far back as 2016, and the Commission has come under sustained criticism for being too passive and for not reacting more forcefully.<\/p>\n
In Slovenia, there is talk from journalists and watchdogs of a\u00a0\u201cclimate of fear\u201d as PM Jan\u0161a\u00a0attacks journalists critical of the government. Commissioner Jourov\u00e1 called on Interior Minister Hojs to do\u00a0more to protect individuals who experience attacks, and the EU is said to be working on a\u00a0systematic approach to deal with threats to journalists across the bloc. There have been calls for even greater action however, with Dutch MEP Sophie in \u2018t\u00a0Veld claiming the EP should already be monitoring Slovenia\u2019s\u00a0rule of law and media freedom compliance, warning Slovenia could be \u201cthe next autocratic country in the EU\u201d.<\/p>\n
In Poland meanwhile, seven months after EU leaders struck their landmark \u20ac1.8\u00a0trillion deal to resuscitate Europe\u2019s\u00a0economies in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis \u2013 a\u00a0pact at least partly predicated on the adherence by member states to the bloc\u2019s\u00a0core principles \u2013 Poland\u2019s\u00a0right-wing PiS government appears set on a\u00a0collision course with Brussels that will test both sides\u2019 commitment to upholding media freedom and the rule of law.<\/p>\n
Critics say a\u00a0new law being discussed to impose steeper taxes on media company earnings risks suffocating much of the country\u2019s\u00a0independent journalism. While the Morawiecki government is adamant the proposed legislation simply seeks to ensure social justice, arguing international media giants are suffocating local Polish outlets, many fear an ulterior motive to constrain criticism is behind the change; one media executive described the government’s\u00a0aim as “more or less copying the Hungarian approach \u2013 to diminish the viability of the independent media,” adding: “The money will just go to propaganda operations close to PiS.” One opposition MEP described the planned tax as \u201csimply the nationalisation of the media\u201d.<\/p>\n
As the FT recently noted, the stand-off over private media is \u201cthe latest in a\u00a0series of disputes\u201d that have put Warsaw \u201cat the centre of a\u00a0contest about Europe\u2019s\u00a0political and cultural values\u201d.<\/p>\n
The EU worked hard to placate Poland and Hungary in the budget debate and came under strong criticism for allegedly favouring Poland in its compromise action. It remains to be seen if it will look to take a\u00a0similar approach now, or if this is even possible in the face of real threats to media freedom.<\/p>\n
Last September, Commission President von der Leyen talked about the EU being a\u00a0Union of values \u2013 if that is to mean anything then Europe cannot stand by while independent media is under such targeted attack.<\/p>\n
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