|
Plea for European funding to support investigative journalism Journalists and media in the Western Balkans are under increased political and financial pressure, and a special fund at the European level should be set up to preserve and further develop investigative journalism, according to Veran Matić, a Serbian journalist and editor-in-chief of the Serbian broadcaster B92. Matić was speaking at the Speak Up! Freedom of Expression and Media Conference, held in Brussels on Friday 6 May. Matić is a winner of the Olaf Palme Memorial Fund professional journalism prize, and is a staunch defender of investigative journalism. “Many do not like it, particularly powerful political figures and tycoons who have amassed their wealth illegally and now use it against those who are intent on exposing their shady dealings and attempts to rule whole countries. Too often media owners also dislike this form of journalism because, in their view, it only gives them headaches,” Matić said. Nevertheless, he added, investigative journalism plays a role of paramount importance in our societies. Matić founded B92 in 1989 as the first independent radio station in Serbia. It is now Serbia's fastest growing national television station, and the most popular private radio station and internet news portal. The station's influential investigative journalism show “The Insider” would not have been possible without funding from organisations committed to professional journalism and fight against corruption, Matić said. He added that financial support from the European Union is a necessity because most media outlets have less and less money to invest in long-running journalistic investigations. “I am afraid that when there is no longer money for such projects there won't be any more investigative journalism.” Matić, who is under round-the-clock police protection because of threats to his life, gave the Speak Up! Freedom of Expression and Media Conference participants a gloomy picture of the worsening situation for the press in the Western Balkans. Murders of journalists, violence, libel cases, exorbitant fines imposed on journalists and high taxes are used to control the media, he said. Economic pressure is another tool to force broadcasters and print media to 'toe the line'. This can be done by denying advertising contracts or by favouring media that does not expose abuses or corrupt practices. In addition, the economic crisis has strongly affected the media and journalists in Southern Europe. Matić said that the Speak Up! Freedom of Expression and Media conference would help to reinforce the European Commission's focus on freedom of expression and the media. “I think that freedom of expression is not high enough on the agenda of the European Commission,” he said, adding that pressure on the governments in the Western Balkans and Turkey to safeguard freedom of expression and the media was of great importance. He appealed to the conference participants to do what they could to push for the release of 57 imprisoned Turkish journalists, and called the developments in Turkey “very worrying”.
|
|
|
“The most powerful tool I have is my voice” The tools the European Commission has at its disposal to make countries in the Western Balkans and Turkey respect the freedom of speech and media are not yet used in full, says Dunja Mijatović OSCE representative on freedom of the media, sipping a drink at the end of a busy day at the Speak Up! Freedom of Expression and Media Conference on 6 May. “Coming from Sarajevo, I do not think that speaking up is a problem in the Balkans. We are very loud, very outspoken. But when it comes to actually doing the work, then there is problem. So there is a need for a push,” she says. Silent diplomacy is not the approach Dunja prefers. “Many governments came to me and said that I should be more silent, but the most powerful tool I have is my voice,” she said in her conference speech. During the post-conference cocktail Mijatović adds that she thinks that it would be good if more clear and precise language could be used in the Commission's progress reports on candidate and potential candidate countries. Several conference speakers, including Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes, pointed out that the acquis communautaire, or body of EU laws, treaties and agreements gives limited scope to the EU institutions to tell candidate and potential candidate countries what to do regarding freedom of expression and the press. Mijatović takes another approach. “I think we should work with what we have. I don't think that the EU uses the acquis and other tools is has at its disposal in full. The acquis is enough to move forward”. In her conference speech, Mijatović said that the situation for the media in the Western Balkans and Turkey is difficult, but that she is an optimist. “Yesterday I was in Turkey to raise awareness about the situation there. The visit was very visible in the media and I received certain positive signs that they [the government] are ready to talk with us,” she said. But more attention need to be paid to the situation in Turkey and the journalists who are in prison in that country, “because it is outrageous,” she added. She expressed the view that there is not enough co-ordination and co-operation between the EU, OSCE and other organisations. “In order to get some results I think we all have to jointly use our forces and do our job the best we can,” she said. “On the other side I also think that the governments of these so called problematic countries, need to do more. And I call on the media to scrutinise them, to make them accountable”. |
|
|
Putting freedom of expression at the heart of the accession process ''The European Commission will accept no deviation on the part of candidate countries from European Union standards on freedom of expression and the media,'' Enlargement Commissioner Štefan Füle said in his speech at the Speak Up! Freedom of Expression and Media Conference in Brussels on 6 May. ''In the Western Balkans and Turkey, freedom of expression and the media are under threat. Too often, journalists have either been murdered or violently attacked," said the Commissioner, adding that he would put these issues at the heart of the accession process. Štefan Füle cited political interference, economic pressures and violence against the media as major issues of concern. He added that implementation of media legislation in Western Balkans and Turkey lags far behind. In particular, Turkish legislation is not in line with the European Convention on Human Rights, and does not sufficiently safeguard the freedom of expression, the Commissioner added. “I am also concerned that there are journalists detained while the evidence is not made available,” Štefan Füle said. “These are important questions we need to address,” he added. Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes said that the EU expects its neighbours and potential future members to commit to the principle of freedom of speech. “We must speak up much louder in the name of freedom of expression and the media,” she said. She acknowledged that the EU is sometimes “limited in how far it can go”. Commissioner Füle formulated the same thought. “We are not the one writing the laws” in the Balkans or Turkey. He explained that the acquis communautaire, or body of EU laws, treaties and agreements, offers limited scope for the Commission to give direction to candidate countries on legislation and standards relating to freedom of expression and the media. Nevertheless, freedom of expression and the media are crucial aspects of the political Copenhagen criteria, which set out the standards a country must meet if it is to be eligible to join the EU. Stefan Füle said “we try to get the best out of this extremely important point”. He explained that he would like to see in the next set of enlargement progress reports a description of the status of freedom of expression and the media in the candidate countries, accompanied by a “roadmap” setting out the short, medium and long term steps that will be taken to ensure that rights are safeguarded. Sašo Ordanoski, journalist from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and consultant on media issues, advised the Commission to be more outspoken on freedom of expression and the media. “Politicians in the Western Balkans don't react if they are criticised behind closed doors in a diplomatic way,” he said. ''You have to know that the Commission is not God and can not do everything. We will try to find ways to promote projects. The proposals for follow-up of this conference will be sent to the Prime Ministers of your countries and I will continue to raise the issue publically and openly on every occasion,'' Commissioner Štefan Füle concluded. Concrete follow-up activities are being finalised now. They will be published once they are ready and sent to the Governments. |
|
|
"Our 2010 enlargement package showed that freedom of expression and the media were issues facing stagnation or worse - a retreat from previous achievements. To be a Member of the European Union means meeting our exacting standards. There can be no slippage and we are deeply concerned by these developments", stated Commissioner Füle on 6 May in his opening speech at the "Speak Up!" International Conference on Freedom of Expression in Brussels. |
|
|
3 May 2011, Commission to host a high level international conference on the issue of freedom of media
|
|
|
3 May 2011, Declaration by Commission President Barroso on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day
|
|
|
14 April 2011, Commissioner Füle meets with journalists from the Western Balkans and Turkey On 14 April, three weeks ahead of the conference, Commissioner Štefan Füle met with journalists from the region to discuss the current situation with regard to freedom of expression and media. The meeting offered journalists an opportunity to voice their concerns and point to possible ways that their situation could be improved. On this occasion, Mr Füle said "Freedom of expression is not ensured just by adopting laws and creating institutions – it is a fundamental value, which needs to be cherished by all societies and without which no democracy can function."
|
