CPJ joins call for European Commission to strengthen Rule of Law report

NEW YORK: The Committee to Protect Journalists Thursday joined 61 organisations in a joint statement urging the European Commission to strengthen its annual Rule of Law report.

The Rule of Law report, published in July, which provides a basis for the annual rule of law dialogue among European Union officials and member states, includes summaries of areas of concern among EU members and calls on countries to fight corruption, ensure judiciary independence, protect media freedom and pluralism, and strengthen other institutional checks and balances.

In the joint statement today, CPJ and other groups noted that the report “overlooked some serious media freedom issues, particularly related to the capture and state control over public service media,” and called on the European Commission to revise the report to more thoroughly examine press freedom issues among EU countries.

The statement also said that the report needs to include a better consultation process with journalists and clear recommendations about what action needs to be taken by member states.—CPJ