MFRR says EC report insufficient response to deteriorating media freedom

“We welcome the findings that reveal a worrying decline in media conditions across Europe, with journalists experiencing rising physical violence, online harassment, and politically motivated smear campaigns. The economic vulnerability of the media sector, combined with the dominance of a few digital platforms and concentrated ownership structures, further increases the risk of political interference.

It said that EU member states are aligning their legislation with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) but many will fall short to respect the implementation deadline in August.

“The report stops short of directly calling out systemic failures, particularly in states where media capture and political interference are entrenched,” it said.

The MFRR said that the part of the report on Serbia acknowledges “serious” and “increasing” concerns regarding the independence of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) and the safety of journalists, but fails to give a realistic picture of the repression that has been underway since the collapse of the railway station canopy in Novi Sad, that claimed 16 lives.

It warned that independent journalism in Serbia is facing its greatest emergency with the authorities failing to protect journalists who face attacks of all kinds from the highest level of government. “Censorship of information, increasing pressure on media professionals, political stranglehold of the media landscape have become systemic and are not sufficiently highlighted as violations of the public’s right to know. With this report, the European Commission makes a weak assessment of the media freedom situation and misses an opportunity to warn the Serbian government of the consequences of such a deterioration of the rule of law, which must be urgently remedied,” it said.