'Securing media freedom and diversity in Europe', 22 September 2021

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Media freedom, including the safety and security of journalists, and media pluralism are cornerstones of liberal democracy as agreed by all Member States in the EU Treaties... All Member States urgently have to take steps to preserve media freedom and media plurality. As some Member States are unwilling to adopt the necessary measures, it is the EU institutions' obligation to enforce European values and guarantee the functioning of liberal democracy and the rule of law in all EU Member States.

... The EESC welcomes the Commission's plan to propose measures for increasing the safety of journalists and underlines the necessity of a legal ban on Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP)...

Since 2015, at least 16 journalists have been killed in the EU in the course – or as a result – of their work. Daphne Caruana Galizia, Giorgos Karaivaz, Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová and Lyra McKee, Peter de Vries and their colleagues must not be forgotten.

Journalists are increasingly exposed to verbal and physical attacks and coverage of protests and demonstrations in particular is becoming more dangerous, with the danger coming from both demonstrators and the forces of law and order...

Female journalists are more likely than their male colleagues to be targets of verbal and physical attacks, as well as of online harassment and threats, which are often misogynist, sexual or macho in nature.

In some Member States, measures to counter disinformation and bans on libel are designed so they can be used to criminalise critical reporting and threaten journalists with incarceration or hefty fines. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) are increasingly used to silence civil society stakeholders and journalists.

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