2016-10-06
LEIPZIG – At the European Media Freedom Conference 2016 in early October the European Magazine Media Association (EMMA) and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) launched a Call for Action from Europe’s media sector to improve press freedom across the continent.
The annual Media Freedom Conference is organised by the ECPMF and brings press freedom advocates together in Leipzig, Germany, to discuss press freedom and freedom of expression in more depth.
"The factors that undermine free speech are complex", said Jane Whyatt, ECPMF Project Manager. “Changing government priorities, anti-terror laws, defamation and hate speech laws, the intimidating actions of non-state actors, self-censorship are among the many threats we see in Europe today. These changes are happening gradually and it’s important to take notice of them before the situation worsens.”
According to the Reporters Without Borders’ 2016 World Press Freedom Index, press freedom in Europe has been steadily deteriorating in the last two years, with some countries, such as Poland and Hungary, suffering from significant declines. As Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders, writes in the report, “the continent that respects media freedom most seems to be on a downhills course and if nothing is done to maintain the pluralism of press on our continent we will see a progressive erosion of the ‘European Model’.”
The report launched today, titled “Securing Press Freedom Across Europe: Europe’s Media Sector Calls for Action” pinpoints some of the main causes of this decline and maps a way forward for policymakers and other stakeholders when it comes to protecting and maintaining press freedom across the continent.
Read the report here.
The “Call for Action” is a result of the (R)Evolution of Europe's Press conference, which took place in Wroclaw, Poland on 1 July.
