The rule of law mechanism The Hungarian crisis in which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán brought in a succession of media laws and regulations that have crippled the independent press showed that most national governments and a significant number of MEPs underestimated Orbán’s threat to the EU as an institution and a community of values. They…
Hungary’s challenge to the EU When Viktor Orbán’s center-right conservative party Fidesz won parliamentary elections in 2010, few expected that Budapest would pose one of the most crucial challenges to the EU. “Orbán’s experiment is the first attempt to deconstruct the liberal system inside the EU. It is also the first time the EU has…
EU as media regulator The 1,000-strong EU press corps does not regularly cover EU press freedom policies, except in exceptional cases when, for instance, the Hungarian prime minister raucously rebuts his adversaries in the European Parliament. “EU correspondents cover the big picture, the big stories which are rocking the EU and its member states, like…
Access to information In August 2004, Belgian police raided the house and office of Hans-Martin Tillack, a Brussels-based reporter for German magazine Stern, in what his lawyer claimed was an attempt to reveal the identity of a whistleblower. This raid, although exceptional, is emblematic of challenges facing EU correspondents, who say they face hurdles in…
How Turkey backtracked on accession responsibilities Press freedom was not a prominent issue during discussions on Turkey becoming a candidate country in 2005. In part, this was because reform was in the air in Ankara: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) adopted a number of reforms that appeared to demonstrate its commitment…
The European Union is struggling to balance its ideals as a global leader in press freedom with its member states’ criminal defamation and blasphemy laws and counterterrorism measures. Despite an outward commitment to press freedom, in many cases the EU lacks a robust mechanism to hold member states accountable when they renege on their commitments.…
StoryMap: Press freedom in EU candidate countries Press freedom is a key factor for countries working toward EU membership. Currently five countries—Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey— and two potential candidates—Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo— are applying to become member states. This StoryMap explores the challenges journalists in those countries have faced in the past five years….
A new document on freedom of expression and opinion, adopted May 12 by the 28 foreign ministers of the European Union, presses nearly all the right buttons. Drawing its inspiration from international human rights norms as well as from the EU’s treaties and its charter of fundamental rights, the document reaffirms the role of freedom…
The Committee to Protect Journalists this week joined a campaign spearheaded by Human Rights Watch and Uzbek human rights defenders urging Czech President Milos Zeman to cancel Uzbek dictator Islam Karimov’s visit to Prague. Zeman had invited Karimov to visit this month despite the Central Asian leader’s notorious intolerance to freedom of the press and…