Fragile Progress: Source notes

A CPJ special report on the struggle for press freedom in the EU

¹ Pol Morillas, editor, “Illiberal Democracies in the EU: the Visegrad Group and the Risk of Disintegration,” January 2017

² CPJ, “Balancing Act,” 2015 https://cpj.org/reports/2015/09/press-freedom-at-risk-europe-summary/

³ Some sources asked not to be named in this report in order to speak frankly or because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

⁴ European Commission, “Joint Statement on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists,” November 1, 2021 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/es/statement_21_5665 

⁵ Platform for the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists / Council of Europe, “Wanted! Real action for media freedom in Europe: Annual Report by the partner organisations to the Council of Europe Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists,” April 2021  https://rm.coe.int/final-version-annual-report-2021-en-wanted-real-action-for-media-freed/1680a2440e 

⁶ The Rule of Law Report monitors EU member states’ performance, both positive and negative, in four key areas for the rule of law: the justice system, the anti-corruption framework, media pluralism, and other institutional issues related to checks and balances. The report is issued annually by the European Commission with input from civil society.

⁷ These trends were confirmed by the number of alerts submitted to the Council of Europe platform to promote the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists (of which CPJ has been a member since 2015). See Council of Europe, “Defending Press Freedom in Times of Tension and Conflict,” April 2022 https://rm.coe.int/platform-protection-of-journalists-annual-report-2022/1680a64fe1 

⁸ European Commission, “European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR)” https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlargement-policy/conditions-membership_en 

⁹ European Parliament, “Fact Sheets on the European Union: Human rights” https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/165/human-rights 

¹⁰ Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union: Title I Common Provisions provides that “The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.” See EU, “Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union – Title I Common Provisions – Article 2,” October 26, 2012 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/treaty/teu_2012/art_2/oj 

¹¹ European Commission, “EU Charter of Fundamental Rights” https://commission.europa.eu/aid-development-cooperation-fundamental-rights/your-rights-eu/eu-charter-fundamental-rights_en 

¹² EU, “FAQ EU competences and Commission powers” https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/how-it-works/how-start-initiative-step-step/faq-eu-competences-and-commission-powers_en 

¹³ The Council of Europe has 46 members. Russia was excluded on March 16, 2022, due to its invasion of Ukraine.

¹⁴ “Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities.” https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/television-broadcasting-activities-television-without-frontiers-tvwf-directive.html#:~:text=The%20Directive%20aims%20to%20ensure,and%20the%20protection%20of%20minors

¹⁵ “Directive (EU) 2018/1808 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 amending Directive 2010/13/EU on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive) in view of changing market realities” https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2018/1808/oj

¹⁶ This process included the creation of the Council of Europe in 1949 but its key date, celebrated today as Europe Day, is May 9, 1950, with the Schuman Declaration. Named after then French foreign minister Robert Schuman—considered a founding father of the EU—it called for deeper cooperation in Europe and led to the establishment in 1951 of the European Coal and Steel Community, with Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. 

¹⁷ Stefan Lehne, “The EU and the Creative and Destructive Impact of Crises,” October 18, 2022 https://carnegieeurope.eu/2022/10/18/eu-and-creative-and-destructive-impact-of-crises-pub-88145#:~:text=Since%20the%20beginning%20of%20the,for%20a%20number%20of%20years.

¹⁸ EU, “History of the EU” https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/history-eu_en

¹⁹ CPJ, “Gunmen attack Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, kill at least 12,” January 7, 2015 https://cpj.org/2015/01/gunmen-attack-paris-offices-of-charlie-hebdo-kill/ 

²⁰ Molly Killeen, “News media seek to reconnect with audiences amid falling trust,” November 10, 2022 https://www.euractiv.com/section/media/news/news-media-seek-to-reconnect-with-audiences-amid-falling-trust/

²¹ “Illiberal Democracies in the EU: the Visegrad Group and the Risk of Disintegration”

²² Ginger Hervey, “Hungary, ‘canary in the coal mine’ of EU press,” September 29, 2015  https://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-eu-press-freedom-orban-fidesz/  

²³ Kati Marton is a member of CPJ’s board of directors.

²⁴ Multiple reports have documented Russian strategies of influence, including Beatrix Futàk-Campbell, “Political Synergy: How the European Far-Right and Russia Have Joined Forces Against Brussels,” 2020 https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/48600543.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A24352facde45c0d7e8a9dcf4c2e040d8&ab_segments=&origin=&initiator=&acceptTC=1 

²⁵ Eszter Zalan, “EU to better protect journalists, Jourova promises,” October 8, 2019 https://euobserver.com/eu-political/146194 

²⁶ European Parliament, “LIBE Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group (DRFMG)” https://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/libe-democracy-rule-of-law-and-fundament/product-details/20190103CDT02662 

²⁷ CPJ, “CPJ leads call for new European Commission President to prioritize press freedom,” July 21, 2019 https://cpj.org/2019/07/cpj-leads-call-for-new-european-commission-preside/ 

²⁸ Reuters Staff, “EU executive will get tough with countries breaking rule of law: Juncker,” September 12, 2018 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-juncker-ruleoflaw-idUSKCN1LS15L 

²⁹ These rules are: the “stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities; a functioning market economy and the ability to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the EU; the ability to take on the obligations of membership, including the capacity to effectively implement the rules, standards and policies that make up the body of EU law (the ‘ acquis ’), and adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union.” https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/glossary/accession-criteria-copenhagen-criteria.html 

³⁰ CPJ, “Balancing Act: The rule of law mechanism” https://cpj.org/reports/2015/09/press-freedom-at-risk-europe-chapter-1-rule-of-law/ 

³¹ European Commission, “Infringement procedure” https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-making-process/applying-eu-law/infringement-procedure_en 

³² European Commission, “Rule of law framework” https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/upholding-rule-law/rule-law/rule-law-framework_en

³³ European Parliament, “Breaches of EU values: how the EU can act (infographic),” September 28, 2022  https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/eu-affairs/20180222STO98434/breaches-of-eu-values-how-the-eu-can-act-infographic

³⁴ Kim Lane Scheppele, “EU can still block Hungary’s veto on Polish sanctions,” January 11, 2016 https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-can-still-block-hungarys-orban-veto-on-polish-pis-sanctions/ 

³⁵ Lydia Gall, “Hungary is Taking European Values for a Ride,” June 23, 2017  https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/23/hungary-taking-european-values-ride 

³⁶ “Fidesz has been suspended from membership of the EPP party alliance since March 2019 but its MEPs had remained part of the EPP group” until they officially left in 2021. See Maïa de La Baume, “Orbán’s Fidesz quits EPP group in European Parliament,” March 3, 2021 https://www.politico.eu/article/epp-suspension-rules-fidesz-european-parliament-viktor-orban-hungary/ 

³⁷ The New Yorker, “Why Do Conservatives Love Hungary’s Viktor Orbán?” June 27 2022 https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/why-do-conservatives-love-hungarys-viktor-orban  

³⁸ CPJ internal interview

³⁹ National Endowment for Democracy, Democracy Digest, “‘Orbanization’? How to capture a democracy,” May 20, 2022 https://www.demdigest.org/Orbanization-how-to-capture-a-democracy/ 

⁴⁰ Perle Petit, “What should the EU do about Hungary’s illiberal turn?” November 4, 2022  https://www.epc.eu/content/PDF/2022/DP_Hungary_s_illiberal_turn.pdf 

⁴¹ CPJ, “Hungary’s media control unprecedented in EU, joint mission finds,” December 3, 2019 https://cpj.org/2019/12/hungarys-media-control-unprecedented-in-eu-joint-m/ 

⁴² Evgeniia Iakhnis, Brian Rathbun, Jason Reifler, and Thomas J. Scotto, “Populist referendum: Was ‘Brexit’ an expression of nativist and anti-elitist sentiment?” May 23, 2018 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2053168018773964 

⁴³ This distance applies also to the media. According to a 2022 Eurobarometer survey, 49% of Europeans trust public broadcasting, 39% “written press,” and 27% private broadcast stations. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20220704IPR34401/eu-citizens-trust-traditional-media-most-new-eurobarometer-survey-finds 

⁴⁴ “Wanted! Real action for media freedom in Europe” https://rm.coe.int/final-version-annual-report-2021-en-wanted-real-action-for-media-freed/1680a2440e 

⁴⁵ Naja Bentzen, “The impact of coronavirus on media freedom,” May 8, 2020 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2020)651905 

⁴⁶ This only applies to state of emergency regulation so it was in effect when the state of emergency was declared due to the pandemic. See CPJ, “Proposed Hungarian laws could imprison journalists covering coronavirus response,” March 24, 2020 https://cpj.org/2020/03/proposed-hungarian-laws-could-imprison-journalists/ 

⁴⁷ Platform for the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists / Council of Europe, “COVID-19 Addendum: Press Freedom Suffers in Council of Europe Member States Under COVID-19: COVID-19 Addendum to the annual report by the partner organizations to the Council of Europe Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists,” June 2020. https://rm.coe.int/covid-add-to-the-annual-report-2020-en/16809f0385

⁴⁸ European Council, “Rule of law conditionality mechanism: Council decides to suspend €6.3 billion given only partial remedial action by Hungary,” December 12, 2022 

⁴⁹ European Commission, “Rule of law conditionality regulation” https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget/protection-eu-budget/rule-law-conditionality-regulation_en

⁵⁰ European Commission, “The Commissioners” https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2019-2024_en

⁵¹ Breton, as part of his portfolio, heads the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology which “develops and implements policies to make Europe fit for the digital age.” Audiovisual and media services policy falls within this Directorate-General.

⁵² Free Press Unlimited, “Enabling environment for the media: Media Advocacy Resource Guide” https://kq.freepressunlimited.org/themes/enabling-environment/ This concept covers media viability, media law, etc. that determine independent media’s capacity to function properly.  

⁵³ Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, “Mission letter” to Věra Jourová, vice-president for values and transparency, December 1, 2019

⁵⁴ European Commission, “European Media and Audiovisual Action Plan” https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/media-and-audiovisual-action-plan# 

⁵⁵ European Commission, “Digital Decade: Commission launches Action Plan to support recovery and transformation of the media and audiovisual sectors,” December 3, 2020 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_2239

⁵⁶ Jourová first visited Malta in 2018 and met the family of Daphne Caruana Galizia. At the time, from 2014 to 2019, Jourová was European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality.  

⁵⁷ Massimo Costa, “‘I will keep my promises to Caruana Galizia family’ – Vera Jourova,” October 7, 2019

⁵⁸ Attila Mong, “Hungarian journalists fear Orbán will use election win to tighten grip on independent media,” April 5, 2022 https://cpj.org/2022/04/hungarian-journalists-fear-Orban-will-use-election-win-to-tighten-grip-on-independent-media/

⁵⁹ European Commission, “Media sector calls — EU support to Media Freedom and Pluralism” https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/funding-media-freedom

⁶⁰ Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, “2020 Rule of law report – Communication and country chapters,” September 30, 2020 https://commission.europa.eu/publications/2020-rule-law-report-communication-and-country-chapters_en

⁶¹ The Rule of Law Report covers four areas: justice, corruption, media, “and other institutional issues related to checks and balances.” https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/upholding-rule-law/rule-law/rule-law-mechanism_en

⁶² European Commission, “Recommendation on the protection, safety and empowerment of journalists,” September 16, 2021 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/recommendation-protection-safety-and-empowerment-journalists

⁶³ European Union, “Types of legislation” https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/law/types-legislation_en 

⁶⁴ The prevalence of SLAPPs led to the establishment of CASE, of which CPJ is a member. The anti-SLAPP directive would not only protect journalists and newspapers, but also activists, campaigning organizations, whistleblowers, and others. https://www.the-case.eu/ 

⁶⁵ EPRS, media freedom conference in Paris, December 3, 2022 

⁶⁶ “The proposed Directive entered the ordinary legislative procedure in the European Parliament and the Council.” https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-a-new-push-for-european-democracy/file-initiative-against-abusive-litigation-targeting-journalists-and-rights-defenders

⁶⁷ CASE, “Shutting Out Criticism: How SLAPPs Threaten European Democracy,” March 2022

⁶⁸ Platform to Promote the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists launched its report “Defending Press Freedom in Times of Tension and Conflict.” https://fom.coe.int/en/rapports/detail/4

⁶⁹ ECPMF, “CASE welcomes the EC’s Anti-SLAPP Initiative as a landmark step in the right direction” https://www.ecpmf.eu/case-welcomes-the-ecs-anti-slapp-initiative-as-a-landmark-step-in-the-right-direction/

⁷⁰ Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, “Defence against frivolous and vexatious libel suits” https://www.daphne.foundation/en/justice/vexatious-libel-cases 

⁷¹ European Commission, “Digital Services Act: EU’s landmark rules for online platforms enter into force,” November 16, 2022 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_22_6906 
European Parliament, “Digital Markets Act: Application timeline,” November 30, 2022 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_ATA(2022)739226

⁷² Eliska Pirkova, “The Digital Services Act: your guide to the EU’s new content moderation rules,” March 17, 2023 https://www.accessnow.org/digital-services-act-eu-content-moderation-rules-guide/

⁷³ European Commission, “The Digital Services Act package” https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-services-act-package#:~:text=The%20Digital%20Services%20Act%20and,level%20playing%20field%20for%20businesses

⁷⁴ Tom Gibson, “How will the EU’s Digital Services Act impact journalism?” July 29, 2020  https://cpj.org/2020/07/how-will-the-eus-digital-services-act-impact-journalism/

⁷⁵ Electronic Frontier Foundation, “EFF Statement on EU Parliament’s Adoption of Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act,” July 5, 2022 https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-statement-eu-parliaments-formal-approval-digital-services-act-and-digital-markets

⁷⁶ ENPA, “The Digital Services Act must safeguard freedom of expression online,” January 18, 2022  https://www.enpa.eu/press-releases/digital-services-act-must-safeguard-freedom-expression-online 

⁷⁷ European Magazine Media Association (EMMA); European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA).

⁷⁸ Doris Buijs, “The Digital Services Act and the implications for news media and journalistic content (Part 1),” September 29, 2022  https://dsa-observatory.eu/2022/09/29/digital-services-act-implications-for-news-media-journalistic-content-part-1/ 

⁷⁹ Victoria de Posson, “A media exemption in the DSA is a recipe for unintended consequences,” December 7, 2021 https://www.project-disco.org/european-union/120721-a-media-exemption-in-the-dsa-is-a-recipe-for-unintended-consequences/ 

⁸⁰ Matt Murphy, “Janez Jansa: Slovenia votes out pro-Trump populist,” April 25, 2022  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61214175

⁸¹ “Wanted! Real action for media freedom in Europe” https://rm.coe.int/final-version-annual-report-2021-en-wanted-real-action-for-media-freed/1680a2440e 

⁸² EU, “Division of competences within the European Union,” February 24, 2022 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/division-of-competences-within-the-european-union.html

⁸³ Attila Mong, “Hungary’s Klubrádió owner András Arató on how the station is responding to the loss of its broadcast license,” November 9, 2021 https://cpj.org/2021/11/hungary-klubradio-andras-arato-loss-broadcast-license/ 

⁸⁴ “Hungary’s Klubrádió owner András Arató on how the station is responding to the loss of its broadcast license” https://cpj.org/2021/11/hungary-klubradio-andras-arato-loss-broadcast-license/ 

⁸⁵ Véronique Lamquin, “Didier Reynders: ‘On observe une tendance inquiétante en termes de sécurité des journalistes,’” July 13, 2022 https://www.lesoir.be/453766/article/2022-07-13/didier-reynders-observe-une-tendance-inquietante-en-termes-de-securite-des 

⁸⁶ European Commission, “European Media Freedom Act: Commission proposes rules to protect media pluralism and independence in the EU,” September 16, 2022 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_5504

⁸⁷ Article 2 of the European Media Freedom Act defines a public service media provider as a provider “entrusted with a public service mission under national law or receives national public funding for the fulfillment of such a mission.” https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52022PC0457&from=EN  

⁸⁸ “European Media Freedom Act: Commission proposes rules to protect media pluralism and independence in the EU” https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_5504

⁸⁹ Damian Tambini, “The democratic fightback has begun: The European Commission’s new European Media Freedom Act,” September 16, 2022 https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2022/09/16/the-democratic-fightback-has-begun-the-european-commissions-new-european-media-freedom-act/ 

⁹⁰ Luci Rohrbacherová and Eva Simon, “Transparency of Media Ownership within the EMFA Proposal” https://dq4n3btxmr8c9.cloudfront.net/files/3rgtsq/Media_ownership_within_the_EMFA.pdf 

⁹¹ “European Media Freedom Act: Commission proposes rules to protect media pluralism and independence in the EU” https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_5504 “The Commission proposes to set up a new independent European Board for Media Services comprised of national media authorities. The Board will promote the effective and consistent application of the EU media law framework, in particular by assisting the Commission in preparing guidelines on media regulatory matters. It will also be able to issue opinions on national measures and decisions affecting media markets and media market concentrations.”

⁹² European Journalism Symposium in Brussels, November 25, 2022

⁹³ Dirk Voorhoof, “European Media Freedom Act and the protection of journalistic sources: still some way to go – Dirk Voorhoof,” November 18, 2022. https://inforrm.org/2022/11/18/european-media-freedom-act-and-the-protection-of-journalistic-sources-still-some-way-to-go-dirk-voorhoof/

⁹⁴ EU, “EU Media Freedom Act: EDPS calls for better protection for all journalists and a ban on highly advanced military-grade spyware,” November 14, 2022 https://edps.europa.eu/press-publications/press-news/press-releases/2022/eu-media-freedom-act-edps-calls-better-protection-all-journalists-and-ban-highly-advanced-military-grade-spyware_en 

⁹⁵ Article 17 of the European Media Freedom Act https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52022PC0457&from=EN 

⁹⁶ See “Platforms’ privileged treatment’ of media content (Article 17)” in Eliska Pirkova, “FAQ: how the EU plans to protect media freedom,” March 17, 2023 https://www.accessnow.org/faq-how-the-eu-plans-to-protect-media-freedom/ 

⁹⁷ EPRS, media freedom panel discussion, December 3, 2022

⁹⁸ Molly Killeen, “EU Council lawyers confirm legal basis of Media Freedom Act,” March 30, 2023 https://www.euractiv.com/section/media/news/eu-council-lawyers-confirm-legal-basis-of-media-freedom-act/ 

⁹⁹ EDRi, “European Commission must uphold privacy, security and free expression by withdrawing new law, say civil society,” June 8, 2022  https://edri.org/our-work/european-commission-must-uphold-privacy-security-and-free-expression-by-withdrawing-new-law/ 

¹⁰⁰ Tom Gibson, “CPJ joins call to reject draft EU regulation for online terrorist content,” March 25, 2021  https://cpj.org/2021/03/cpj-reject-eu-regulation-online-terrorist-content/

¹⁰¹ Tom Gibson, “CPJ reminds EU that ‘e-evidence’ rules should protect journalists,” September 14, 2020 https://cpj.org/2020/09/cpj-reminds-eu-that-e-evidence-rules-should-protect-journalists/ 

¹⁰² CPJ, “Hungarian court gags investigative report, citing EU data protection law,” October 21, 2020 https://cpj.org/2020/10/hungarian-court-gags-investigative-report-citing-eu-data-protection-law/

¹⁰³ Zsuzsa Detrekői, “How to Gag Journalism in Hungary: Use GDPR,” October 7, 2020 https://cmds.ceu.edu/article/2020-10-07/how-gag-journalism-hungary-use-gdpr 

¹⁰⁴ CPJ, “Hungarian court gags investigative report, citing EU data protection law,” October 21, 2020 https://cpj.org/2020/10/hungarian-court-gags-investigative-report-citing-eu-data-protection-law/ 

¹⁰⁵ Melinda Rucz, “The GDPR enters the SLAPP scene: GDPR proceedings as emerging forms of strategic litigation against public participation,” February 22, 2022 https://europeanlawblog.eu/2022/02/22/the-gdpr-enters-the-slapp-scene-gdpr-proceedings-as-emerging-forms-of-strategic-litigation-against-public-participation/   

¹⁰⁶ Attila Mong, “In Romania, EU data protection law used to try to muzzle Rise Project, January 16, 2019 https://cpj.org/2019/01/in-romania-eu-data-protection-law-used-to-try-to-m/ 

¹⁰⁷ Data Protection Law Scholars Network, “The right to lodge a data protection complaint: OK, but then what? An empirical study of current practices under the GDPR,” June 2022 https://www.accessnow.org/cms/assets/uploads/2022/06/Complaint-study-Final-version-before-design-June-15.pdf

¹⁰⁸ Tom Gibson, “CPJ joins call for human rights protections in EU Digital Services Act,” March 2, 2022 https://cpj.org/2022/03/cpj-joins-call-for-human-rights-protections-in-eu-digital-services-act/  

¹⁰⁹ EDRi, “Position paper: A safe internet for all – Upholding private and secure communications,” October 19, 2022 https://edri.org/our-work/a-safe-internet-for-all-upholding-private-and-secure-communications/ 

¹¹⁰ EDPB and EDPS, “Joint Opinion 4/2022 on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse,” July 28, 2022 https://edps.europa.eu/system/files/2022-07/22-07-28_edpb-edps-joint-opinion-csam_en.pdf

¹¹¹ Javier Zarzalejos, “New legislation to fight child sexual abuse online,” March 20, 2023 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-promoting-our-european-way-of-life/file-combating-child-sexual-abuse-online 

¹¹² Amnesty International, “Forensic Methodology Report: How to catch NSO Group’s Pegasus,” July 18, 2021 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2021/07/forensic-methodology-report-how-to-catch-nso-groups-pegasus/ 

¹¹³ Forbidden Stories, “About the Pegasus Project” https://forbiddenstories.org/about-the-pegasus-project/   

¹¹⁴ EU, “Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2021 setting up a Union regime for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items (recast)” https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32021R0821 

¹¹⁵ Human Rights Watch, “EU: Robustly Implement New Export Rules for Surveillance Tech,” September 8, 2021 https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/09/08/eu-robustly-implement-new-export-rules-surveillance-tech#_ftn1 

¹¹⁶ “European Parliament Draft Recommendation to the Council and the Commission … following the investigation of alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware” https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/PEGA-RD-740554_EN.pdf 

¹¹⁷ Mark Mazzetti, Ronen Bergman, and Matina Stevis-Gridneff, “How the Global Spyware Industry Spiraled Out of Control,” January 28, 2023 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/08/us/politics/spyware-nso-pegasus-paragon.html 

¹¹⁸ Section 4 of the European democracy action plan defines disinformation as “false or misleading content that is spread with an intention to deceive or secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm” https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0790&from=EN 

¹¹⁹ Carme Colomina, Héctor Sánchez Margalef, and Richard Youngs, “The impact of disinformation on democratic processes and human rights in the world,” April 22, 2021 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EXPO_STU(2021)653635

¹²⁰ “Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation” https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2022-0022_EN.html  

¹²¹ European Commission, “The 2022 Code of Practice on Disinformation” https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/code-practice-disinformation 

¹²² “The 2022 Code of Practice on Disinformation” https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/code-practice-disinformation 

¹²³ UNESCO, press freedom conference, December 2, 2022

¹²⁴ Dick Voorhoof, “EU silences Russian state media: a step in the wrong direction – Dirk Voorhoof,” May 8, 2022 https://inforrm.org/2022/05/08/eu-silences-russian-state-media-a-step-in-the-wrong-direction-dirk-voorhoof/   

¹²⁵ Toby Sterling, “Dutch journalists, rights group file lawsuit challenging EU ban on RT, Sputnik,” May 25, 2022 https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/dutch-journalists-rights-group-file-lawsuit-challenging-eu-ban-rt-sputnik-2022-05-25/  

¹²⁶ Jorge Liboreiro, “European General Court upholds EU ban on Russia Today,” August 1, 2022 https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/07/27/european-general-court-upholds-eu-ban-on-russia-today 

¹²⁷ On April 19, 2022, CPJ, Access Now, and EDRi wrote to the European Commission seeking information about the implementation of the RT-Sputnik ban. A response was received on June 28, 2022. An information request also was sent on January 19, 2023, to ask the Commission to provide further information not otherwise provided in the June response. 

¹²⁸ Tarja Laaninen, “Ukraine: Media freedom and disinformation,” June 24, 2022 https://epthinktank.eu/2022/06/24/ukraine-media-freedom-and-disinformation/ 

¹²⁹ European Commission, “EU assistance to Ukraine” https://eu-solidarity-ukraine.ec.europa.eu/eu-assistance-ukraine_en 

¹³⁰ Media Freedom Rapid Response,” “Residencies” https://www.mfrr.eu/support/residencies/ 

¹³¹ Aleks Szczerbiak, “How will the Russia-Ukraine war affect Poland’s rule of law dispute with the EU?” July 11, 2022 https://www.pubaffairsbruxelles.eu/opinion-analysis/how-will-the-russia-ukraine-war-affect-polands-rule-of-law-dispute-with-the-eu/ 

¹³² Sylvie Kauffmann, “La vision de ‘l’Europe à un tournant historique’ défendue par la Pologne est à l’opposé de celle de ses partenaires français et allemand,” April 5, 2023 https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2023/04/05/la-vision-de-l-europe-a-un-tournant-historique-defendue-par-la-pologne-est-a-l-oppose-de-celle-de-ses-partenaires-francais-et-allemand_6168293_3232.html 

¹³³ European Commission, “Trade secrets” https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/industry/strategy/intellectual-property/trade-secrets_en 

¹³⁴ Franceinfo, “Scandale dans les Ehpad Orpea : ‘Le rapport d’enquête ne sera pas public et c’est inquiétant,’ juge le cadre infirmier à l’origine de l’enquête,” March 25, 2022 https://www.francetvinfo.fr/societe/prise-en-charge-des-personnes-agees/scandale-dans-les-ehpad-orpea-le-rapport-d-enquete-ne-sera-pas-public-et-c-est-inquietant-juge-un-cadre-infirmier_5045116.html

¹³⁵ Yann Philippin, Antton Rouget, and Marine Turchi, “‘Secret des affaires’: l’Etat refuse de communiquer ses commandes de masques,” June 15, 2020 https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/france/150620/secret-des-affaires-l-etat-refuse-de-communiquer-ses-commandes-de-masques 

¹³⁶ L’Express, “‘Implant Files’: le secret des affaires empêche l’enquête,” November 28, 2018  https://www.lexpress.fr/societe/justice/implant-files-le-secret-des-affaires-empeche-l-enquete_2050808.html 

¹³⁷ Spiil, “Reflets.info vs. Altice : more than ever the Spiil reminds that the right to information must take over business secrecy,” October 10, 2022 https://spiil.my.site.com/s/position/reflets-info-vs-altice-more-than-ever-the-spiil-reminds-that-the-right-to-inform-MCEMFINNU6TJC43DN7HMZEJIYWKI

¹³⁸ Brice Laemle, “La justice autorise ‘Reflets.info’ à publier de nouveaux articles à propos d’Altice à partir de données piratées,” January 20, 2023 https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2023/01/20/la-justice-autorise-reflets-info-a-publier-de-nouveaux-articles-a-propos-d-altice-a-partir-de-donnees-piratees_6158707_3234.html  ​​

¹³⁹ EPP Group, “MEP Casa nominated as Co-Chair of the EP’s Media Working Group,” September 8, 2020  https://www.eppgroup.eu/how-we-make-it-happen/with-eu-countries/malta/news/mep-casa-nominated-as-co-chair-of-ep-s-media-working-group 

¹⁴⁰ Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism ​​https://daphnejournalismprize.eu/ 

¹⁴¹ Council of the European Union, “Live from Brussels: A study of the Brussels press corps,” 2021 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/54576/eu-press-corps-report_final_web_010322.pdf 

¹⁴² “Reporting on European affairs: a thankless calling?” round table, November 24, 2022 https://twitter.com/LesAssises/status/1595798460803989504

¹⁴³ Jakob Hanke Vela, “Brussels Playbook: Burn after reading — Séjourné slams ‘Trumpist’ migration debate — Subsidy row latest,” February 7, 2023 https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/brussels-playbook/burn-after-reading-sejourne-slams-trumpist-migration-debate-subsidy-row-latest/   

¹⁴⁴ “Live from Brussels: A study of the Brussels press corps,” 2021 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/54576/eu-press-corps-report_final_web_010322.pdf  

¹⁴⁵ Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino and Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella were later connected with the scandal and are facing investigations: https://www.brusselstimes.com/451951/european-parliament-scandal-cozzolino-extradition-postponed-yet-again

¹⁴⁶ Sydney P. Freedberg, Nicole Sadek, Brenda Medina, Agustin Armendariz, and Karrie Kehoe, “How Uber won access to world leaders, deceived investigators and exploited violence against its drivers in battle for global dominance,” July 10, 2022 https://www.icij.org/investigations/uber-files/uber-global-rise-lobbying-violence-technology/

¹⁴⁷ EU, “Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents,” May 30, 2001 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32001R1049 

¹⁴⁸ For example, see Article 4 (regarding “Exceptions”) of “Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents” https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32001R1049 

¹⁴⁹ Hans-Martin Tillack and Peter Teffer, “Brussels conceals records on recovery billions, despite transparency pledge,” February 9, 2022 https://www.ftm.eu/articles/recovery-files-eu-transparency?share=m4j0NAAg%2BLdAWWfK8he3fhLyWgN5zvqkDKQaHiPh6Fd1Wzlse0z5gEAKeMVkS%2Fc%3D 

¹⁵⁰ Jacopo Barigazzi, “Brussels Playbook: Qatargate — China travel deal — Guerrillas in Russia,” January 5, 2023 https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/brussels-playbook/qatargate-the-inevitable-car-crash-china-deal-guerrillas-in-russia/?utm_source=POLITICO.EU&utm_campaign=5cbbab4dc5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_01_05_03_43&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_10959edeb5-5cbbab4dc5-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D 

¹⁵¹ “Brussels Playbook: Qatargate — China travel deal — Guerrillas in Russia” https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/brussels-playbook/qatargate-the-inevitable-car-crash-china-deal-guerrillas-in-russia/?utm_source=POLITICO.EU&utm_campaign=5cbbab4dc5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_01_05_03_43&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_10959edeb5-5cbbab4dc5-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D 

¹⁵² Access Info, “European Commission President’s text messages are documents and can be requested says Ombudsman,” January 28, 2022 https://www.access-info.org/2022-01-28/text-messages-documents-ombudsman/  Alexander Fanta, “Von der Leyen’s texts are not a private matter,” June 30, 2022 https://www.politico.eu/article/von-der-leyens-texts-are-not-a-private-matter-covid-vaccines-coronavirus/   

¹⁵³ Alexander Fanta, “Von der Leyen’s texts are not a private matter,” June 30, 2022 https://www.politico.eu/article/von-der-leyens-texts-are-not-a-private-matter-covid-vaccines-coronavirus/   

¹⁵⁴ Samuel Stolton, “New York Times sues EU over von der Leyen’s Pfizer texts,” February 13, 2023 https://www.politico.eu/article/new-york-times-sue-european-union-ursula-von-der-leyen-pfizer-texts/ 

¹⁵⁵ EU, “Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law” https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019L1937 

¹⁵⁶ Informer n’est pas un délit, “Loi ‘lanceurs d’alerte’ : 29 organisations lancent un appel à la société civile,” June 2, 2021 https://informernestpasundelit.org/2021/06/loi-lanceurs-dalerte-29-organisations-lancent-un-appel-a-la-societe-civile/

¹⁵⁷ Nicholas Aiossa, “Make 2020 the year of the EU staff whistleblower,” January 22, 2020 https://transparency.eu/euwhistleblower/ 

¹⁵⁸ Whistleblowing International Network, “Whistleblowing protection laws must cover breaches of national law” https://whistleblowingnetwork.org/Our-Work/Publications/WIN-Series-EU-Directive-in-Brief-Whistleblowing 

¹⁵⁹ CJEU, “​​The Court of Justice confirms that EU law precludes the general and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data, except in the case of a serious threat to national security,” September 20, 2022 https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2022-09/cp220156en.pdf 

¹⁶⁰ Eliska Pirkova and Estelle Massé, “EU Court decides on two major ‘right to be forgotten’ cases: there are no winners here,” January 13, 2023 https://www.accessnow.org/eu-court-decides-on-two-major-right-to-be-forgotten-cases-there-are-no-winners-here/

¹⁶¹ Michael J. Oghia, “Information Not Found: The ‘Right to Be Forgotten’ as an Emerging Threat to Media Freedom in the Digital Age,” January 9, 2018 https://www.cima.ned.org/publication/right-to-be-forgotten-threat-press-freedom-digital-age/ 

¹⁶² Nikolaj Nielsen, “EU court delivers transparency blow on MEP expenses,” September 25, 2018 https://euobserver.com/eu-political/142946

¹⁶³ Solvej Krause, “Who should have access to beneficial ownership registries? ECJ revokes public access in the EU but confirms access for journalists and civil society,” January 26, 2023 https://star.worldbank.org/blog/who-should-have-access-beneficial-ownership-registries-ecj-revokes-public-access-eu-confirms#:~:text=In%20a%20consequential%20ruling%20from,EU%20Charter%20of%20Fundamental%20Rights 

¹⁶⁴ Alexandra Gillies, “FAQ: The EU Ruling on Ownership Transparency and What It Means for Journallists,” January 5, 2023 https://www.occrp.org/en/beneficial-ownership-data-is-critical-in-the-fight-against-corruption/faq-the-eu-ruling-on-ownership-transparency-and-what-it-means-for-journalists 

¹⁶⁵ Abdelhak El Idrissi, Anne Michel, and Jérémie Baruch, “‘In one day, the court destroyed years of work’: Shock at European ruling on financial transparency,” December 7, 2022 https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2022/12/07/in-one-day-the-court-destroyed-years-of-work-shock-at-european-ruling-on-financial-transparency_6006821_19.html  

¹⁶⁶ Scilla Alecci and Sean McGoey, “Pandora Papers Reporting from Across Europe,” December 21, 2021 https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/pandora-papers-reporting-from-across-europe/ 

¹⁶⁷ Raquel Jorge Ricart, “The geopolitical implications of the EU’s Media Freedom Act,” December 16, 2022 https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/en/work-document/the-geopolitical-implications-of-the-eus-media-freedom-act/ 

¹⁶⁸ Council of the European Union, “A Strategic Compass for a stronger EU security and defence in the next decade,” March 21, 2022 https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/03/21/a-strategic-compass-for-a-stronger-eu-security-and-defence-in-the-next-decade/ 

¹⁶⁹ Resource Centre on Media Freedom in Europe, “UN-EU High-level Policy Dialogue on safety of journalists and media freedom,” February 4, 2022 https://www.rcmediafreedom.eu/News/UN-EU-High-level-Policy-Dialogue-on-safety-of-journalists-and-media-freedom  

¹⁷⁰ Anu Bradford, “The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World,” 2020

¹⁷¹ European Parliament, “Frances Haugen to MEPs: EU digital rules can be a game changer for the world,” November 8, 2021 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20211107IPR16801/frances-haugen-to-meps-eu-digital-rules-can-be-a-game-changer-for-the-world  

¹⁷² In response to CPJ’s question at the European Journalism Symposium in Brussels, November 25, 2022. 

¹⁷³ In an April 2022, Foreign Policy piece, Jacob Mchangama, who directs Copenhagen-based think-tank Justitia and Justitia’s The Future of Free Speech Project, expressed his concerns about the Digital Services Act’s “Brussels Effect,” writing “the DSA does not strike the right balance between countering genuine online harms and safeguarding free speech. It will most likely result in a shrinking space for online expression, as social media companies are incentivized to delete massive amounts of perfectly legal content.” https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/25/the-real-threat-to-social-media-is-europe/ 

¹⁷⁴ EU Human Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline, 2014

¹⁷⁵ Media4Democracy https://www.media4democracy.org/ 

¹⁷⁶ Media4Democracy, “Protecting the Safety of Journalists Protecting Freedom of Expression: A Handbook for EU Delegations,” 2020  https://www.media-diversity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Final-M4D-Safety-of-Journalists-Handbook.pdf  

¹⁷⁷ EU, “EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020 – 2024” https://www.eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/eu_action_plan_on_human_rights_and_democracy_2020-2024.pdf 

¹⁷⁸ European Commission, “Joint Statement on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists,” November 1, 2021 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_21_5665

¹⁷⁹ European Neighbourhood Policy: What is it? https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/european-neighbourhood-policy_en e.

¹⁸⁰ Attila Mong, “In Greece, reporters’ killings unsolved, critical journalists complain of growing threats,” October 27, 2022 https://cpj.org/2022/10/in-greece-reporters-killings-unsolved-critical-journalists-complain-of-growing-threats/ 

¹⁸¹ CPJ, “Malta: Court sentences hitmen to 40 years each for role in assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia,” October 14, 2022 https://cpj.org/2022/10/malta-court-sentences-hitmen-to-40-years-each-for-role-in-assassination-of-daphne-caruana-galizia/ 

¹⁸² CPJ, “Slovak Supreme Court cancels acquittal of primary suspects in journalist Ján Kuciak’s murder,” June 15, 2021 https://cpj.org/2021/06/slovak-supreme-court-cancels-acquittal-of-primary-suspects-in-journalist-jan-kuciaks-murder/ 

¹⁸³ CPJ, “CPJ welcomes final sentencing over Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack,” October 24, 2022 https://cpj.org/2022/10/cpj-welcomes-final-sentencing-over-charlie-hebdo-terrorist-attack/ 

¹⁸⁴ Ionel Zamfir, “Transitional justice: Central to fighting impunity,” June 15, 2022 https://epthinktank.eu/2022/06/15/transitional-justice-central-to-fighting-impunity/ 

¹⁸⁵ “EU assistance to Ukraine” https://eu-solidarity-ukraine.ec.europa.eu/eu-assistance-ukraine_en 

¹⁸⁶ European Parliament, “Draft Report on the protection of journalists around the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter,” January 10, 2023 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/AFET-PR-740635_EN.pdf 

¹⁸⁷ Tamsin Mitchell, “Safety of journalists in non-EU countries: state and non-state protection mechanisms and the role of the EU,” June 2022 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2022/702564/EXPO_IDA(2022)702564_EN.pdf 

¹⁸⁸ In March 2022, a number of human rights organizations insisted, for instance, on the EU to publicly call “at the beginning of the EU-China summit and at all high-level interactions for the release of arbitrarily detained human rights defenders and activists, … such as citizen journalist Zhang Zhan.” https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/18/joint-ngo-letter-ahead-eu-china-summit 

¹⁸⁹ Mario Damen, “Values on the retreat? The role of values in the EU’s external policies,” March 2022 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EXPO_STU(2022)639318

¹⁹⁰ Marco Appel, “Parlamento Europeo, el nuevo enemigo de AMLO,” April 5, 2022  https://undergroundperiodismo.com/parlamento-europeo-el-nuevo-enemigo-de-amlo/ 

¹⁹¹ European Parliament, “EP Press Release of 10 March 2022 on situation of journalists and human rights defenders in Mexico,” March 10, 2022 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/delegations/en/ep-press-release-of-10-march-2022-on-sit/product-details/20220310DPU32324   

¹⁹² Henry Foy, Sam Fleming, and Javier Espinoza, “European parliament to ban all unofficial ‘friendship groups,’” December 15, 2022 https://www.ft.com/content/76a9eca0-700e-48b6-b3ae-e44dcd06455c 

¹⁹³ Andreas Kouwenhoven and Clara van de Wiel, “Op de loonlijst in Brussel én de Emiraten: hoe het Europarlement openstaat voor autocratische regimes,” February 8, 2023 https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2023/02/08/op-de-loonlijst-in-brussel-en-de-emiraten-hoe-het-europarlement-openstaat-voor-autocratische-regimes-a4156616 
Sarah Wheaton, “Brussels Playbook: EUCO deals on fences, funds — Zelenskyy’s success rate — Sikorski’s UAE gig,” February 10, 2023 https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/brussels-playbook/euco-deals-on-fences-funds-zelenskyys-success-rate-sikorskis-uae-gig/ 

¹⁹⁴ Renata Neder, “‘Covering a lawless land’: Brazilian journalists on reporting in the Amazon after Dom Phillips’ and Bruno Pereira’s killings,” July 26, 2022 https://cpj.org/2022/07/covering-a-lawless-land-brazilian-journalists-on-reporting-in-the-amazon-after-dom-phillips-and-bruno-pereiras-killings/ 

¹⁹⁵ Signed in Cotonou (Togo) in 2000, it is a partnership agreement between the EU and the so-called ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific states).

¹⁹⁶ Heidi Hautala, “Review of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Regulation,” March 2023 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-an-economy-that-works-for-people/file-new-gsp-regulation