20 Sep, 2023
3 May marks the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993. Three decades later, the fight for press freedom remains critical, with attacks on media freedom, journalists and access to information on the rise globally.
Freedom of expression is a core value for Europe’s liberals, and ALDE Party continues to fight to protect and strengthen press freedom wherever it is at risk. A free and independent media is essential for democratic and open societies and plays an important role as a driver for all human rights. ALDE Party has mobilised European liberals to take action for press freedom through campaigns to:
- Free Alexei Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Murza, journalists imprisoned in Russia
- Stand with the people of Poland for media freedom
- Stop imprisonment of journalists in Belarus
- Ensure universal access to information
- Call for the release of Nika Gvaramia, a journalist jailed in Georgia
- Petition for the protection of Christo Grozev, put on Putin’s “kill list”
And much more - watch the video below or on YouTube to find out how ALDE Party fights for press freedom on World Press Freedom Day and every day.
On the EU level, European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová and Vice-President for Internal Market Thierry Breton have presented the European Media Freedom Act, a landmark piece of legislation aiming to protect media and journalists from state influence and spying.
The Act will contribute to restore the trust in the media and in fight disinformation, including foreign interference, by:
- Protecting editorial independence – requiring EU Member States to respect the effective editorial freedom of media service providers and improve the protection of journalistic sources;
- requiring transparency on media ownership, the allocation of state advertising and audience measurement systems;
- Strengthening coordination of national media regulators by creating a new independent European Board for Media Services.
