Az ülések szó szerinti jegyzőkönyve

2022. május 3., Kedd - Strasbourg

2. Az újságírók biztonságát és a médiaszabadságot fenyegető veszélyek Európában – a sajtószabadság világnapja alkalmából (vita)

  President. – Dear colleagues, good morning. I have a short statement from my end because today is World Press Freedom Day. The European Parliament has always sought to defend and promote a strong and free press in Europe and beyond. Our position has always been – and will always be – on the side of the truth, on the side of the truth-seekers. Journalists should never have to choose between uncovering the truth and staying alive. They should never be forced to spend years and savings to argue against vexatious lawsuits or SLAPPs.

So today, on World Press Freedom Day, we launch the second edition of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism, a prize named after a journalist assassinated for speaking the truth. In her memory, we support those who promote and defend core European values and seek to establish the truth through outstanding journalism.

I am proud that this Parliament stands up for what we believe in. I am proud that we match our rhetoric with action – today and every day – because a strong democracy needs a strong press, and we know that there can be no democracy without freedom of the press.

The next item is the debate on the Commission statement on threats to the safety of journalists and media freedom, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.

Dear colleagues, I remind you that we are testing some of the recommendations of the focus group on the plenary reform. The free seating is applied, with the exception of the first two rows that are allocated to group leaders. I would like to inform Members that this debate is foreseen with one round of political group speakers and also that speakers can continue to speak from the central rostrum. So I remind colleagues to keep an eye on the speakers’ list and to approach the rostrum when your speaking time is imminent.

  Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, on the occasion of this year’s World Press Freedom Day, I would like to pay tribute, in particular, to journalists who are covering the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine from the place. They inform us at the risk of their lives. They are our eyes under Russian bombs and threats. They show us what Russia does not want us to see. Indeed, as the President has just said, we have to stand on the side of truth seekers.

Our first priority is the safety of journalists. This is why the EU has already dedicated more than EUR 6 million to emergency support for journalists in Ukraine, including protective equipment, training and also relocation when necessary. But even in the EU, journalists are at risk for doing their work. This is why the Commission presented in September last year, for the first time ever, recommendations to Member States to improve the safety of journalists.

We want to provide journalists facing threats with legal and psychological support and increase their protection online and offline, for instance, during demonstrations. But any legislation is only as effective as its implementation. Therefore, I call on all Member States to fully implement the measures suggested in the recommendation.

A few days ago, the Commission proposed legislation to protect journalists against abusive lawsuits – strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). These abusive proceedings are often David against Goliath fights. Those bringing these lawsuits are wealthy and powerful, their targets usually not. Journalists speak in the public interest, they keep power in check and this is why we need to protect them. I call this a toughness law.

This directive is in honour of Daphne Caruana Galizia and her family, who have fought so much for it. We adopted also a recommendation to encourage Member States to align their rules with the proposed EU law, including for domestic cases and in all proceedings. The recommendation also calls on Member States to take a range of other measures, such as supporting, training and awareness-raising to fight against SLAPPs.

And we will go further. We are now preparing, together with Commissioner Breton, the Media Freedom Act. The act will enshrine, for the first time in EU law, common safeguards to protect media pluralism and the editorial independence of the media.

Hand in hand with the legislation, we are also dedicating more EU funding to supporting media projects. We have just announced EUR 8 million for cross—border journalism partnerships, and more will come. We support innovation and digital transformation as this is important for the sector to thrive in the long term. And, at the same time, with the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, we have new rules to better protect fundamental rights online and to ensure fairer digital markets.

To sum up, the EU has never done so much to protect and promote media freedom and pluralism. This is clearly thanks to the strong support of the European Parliament and I would like to thank you for being such a great ally in our common fight to defend our European values and our democracies. Recent crises have showed the importance of standing for media freedom and pluralism and protecting our democracies.

  Vladimír Bilčík, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, today we are here to honour and to protect the work of journalists. The job of a journalist is a brave job. A reporter in Ukraine today is also a freedom fighter on the frontlines of Russia’s aggression.

Dear journalists in Kyiv and everywhere in Ukraine, you who report on Russian attacks and war crimes, you help shield millions of citizens in any of our European countries from foreign propaganda. All of you who write and work as war journalists, local fixers across Ukraine, cameramen, producers, all of you working for the media that deliver news from the front, all of you provide your citizens with information that literally saves lives. You are heroes who might come under fire even if you wear the ‘press’ sign. You may be abducted or you might simply die because you do your work for a democratic society that we may enjoy in no small part thanks to free and independent media.

Journalists and journalism face different threats in different parts of Europe. Across the Western Balkans, journalists are exposed to verbal attacks and smear campaigns. This is a region of deeply polarised politics, where the notion of free and independent media is constantly challenged by the idea that journalists serve either the government or opposition politicians.

Quality journalism and quality media anywhere, however, are about the constant search for facts and the truth. We are not immune to attacks against journalists who seek to uncover the truth in EU Member States. Many reporters, anchors and well-known people in the media are constantly attacked online. Women journalists especially are vulnerable to abuse on the internet. Some of those who investigate corruption, the dark side of business and politics, have tragically paid the highest price for their work. Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed in Malta and Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, were brutally murdered in Slovakia. We must bring to justice all perpetrators of crimes against journalists.

The courage of those who produce and write the news for us is an invaluable part of the fabric of European democracy. It deserves our full attention and protection. As we continue to face Russia’s brutal attack against Ukraine, we must bluntly acknowledge that Russian media outlets are tools in the Kremlin’s war. Disinformation kills. We must not allow any malicious actor to exploit our freedoms.

Across the European Union, we must support independent and quality public service media for lively and free democratic debate. We must give support to organisations of independent journalists, but be vigilant about those who falsely present themselves as journalists. Let us show zero tolerance towards attacks, harassment, violence and threats against journalists. We must swiftly work on the Commission’s proposal on the safety of all these persons, including an anti-SLAPP instrument. We need to protect journalists and foster a culture where attacks are unacceptable.

Dear colleagues, today we are paying attention to journalists because it is their special day. Let us work so that every day is special for journalism and media in Europe. This is the only way forward for meaningful democracy and freedom.

  Tiemo Wölken, im Namen der S&D-Fraktion. – Sehr geehrte Frau Präsidentin, sehr geehrte Frau Kommissarin! Max Levin, Oksana Paulina, Brent Reno: Alle drei sind Putins brutalem Angriffskrieg zum Opfer gefallen. Ermordet und getötet, weil sie ihrer Arbeit als Journalistinnen und Journalisten nachgegangen sind.

Sie setzten ihr Leben aufs Spiel, um uns mit Informationen und der Wahrheit zu versorgen. Die freie Presse ist der Todfeind autoritärer Diktatoren wie Putin. Ihr Ziel ist es, den Glauben an die Wahrheit zu erschüttern, dass sie am Ende mit all ihren Lügen durchkommen. Bevor die Lüge zur Wahrheit werden kann, muss zuerst die Pressefreiheit weichen und mit ihr diejenigen, die sie mit Leben füllen.

Aber heute stellen wir fest: Ohne freie Presse gibt es keine Demokratie. Deswegen verdienen Journalistinnen und Journalisten unseren uneingeschränkten Schutz. Aber die Pressefreiheit ist nicht nur außerhalb der Europäischen Union bedroht. Der Weg zum Ende der Pressefreiheit beginnt nicht im Kugelhagel, sondern er beginnt leise und verdeckt mit Einschüchterungsversuchen, gezielten Bedrohungen, kostspieligen Gerichtsverfahren.

Auch in der Europäischen Union sind mutige Journalistinnen und Journalisten Politikerinnen und Politikern, die korrupt sind, Geschäftsleuten, die mehr Geld verdienen wollen, ein Dorn im Auge. Ein Lieblingsinstrument, um Journalisten mundtot zu machen, sind dabei Einschüchterungsklagen, kurz SLAPP. Bei diesen Klagen geht es nicht darum zu gewinnen, sondern es geht schlicht darum, die Beklagten psychisch und finanziell ans Ende ihrer Kräfte zu bringen, damit sie aufhören, Skandale aufzudecken, damit sie aufhören, journalistische Arbeit zu machen. Fälle wie der der ermordeten Journalistin Daphne Caruana Galizia machen klar, wie wichtig die vorgeschlagene Anti-SLAPP-Richtlinie ist, damit wir Einschüchterungsklagen auch in der Europäischen Union beenden.

Und ich danke der Europäischen Kommission, dass sie die Vorschläge des Europäischen Parlaments für eine gute Anti-SLAPP-Richtlinie aufgenommen hat. Gemeinsam werden wir dafür sorgen, dass Journalistinnen und Journalisten in der Europäischen Union ihre Arbeit machen können, ohne bedroht und eingeschüchtert zu werden. Der Kampf gegen SLAPP beginnt heute, aber er ist damit noch nicht beendet. Wir schulden es Journalistinnen und Journalisten wie Max Levin, Oksana Paulina und Brent Reno.

  Ramona Strugariu, on behalf of the Renew Group. – Madam President, an attack on a journalist is an attack on us all. I started my day by reading these words from OCCRP. Emilia Șercan is a Romanian investigative journalist whose private life and reputation are tarnished as we speak only because she had the courage to reveal a rotten system.

When Diana Oncioiu, Vlad Stoicescu and Ovidiu Vanghele shed light on corruption and abuse within the church, they rapidly became targets of abusive lawsuits. Many other names are on this list, and they’re not limited to only one Member State.

The anti-SLAPP directive proposal is the first piece of EU legislation which directly addresses the protection of journalists, as it deals with abusive litigation. I would like to thank the Commission for making this possible, and I would like to thank the President of this House for making it possible because it was not an easy fight.

This proposal will be followed by the Media Freedom Act later this year. The MFA should provide us with a surgical tool addressing main threats to the freedom of press, while at the same time avoiding ministries of truth or tearing apart functioning models where journalism thrives. We have long called for such legislation, and this is just the beginning of a complex road to implementation. But it is finally happening now.

Let us not forget those journalists who are reporting from the war in Ukraine or are oppressed by Putin’s regime. Ten journalists have been murdered so far by the Russian army in Ukraine while doing their job. Putin’s war is also a war against free press. Journalists have been targeted. They have been captured and abducted, held hostage, having their names on extermination lists. These are war crimes and every single one of them needs to be paid for.

We stand with them all. We cherish their work and bravery. We need to support them with facts and actions, not just words. They are gatekeepers of freedom, pluralist, informed and resilient societies. Long live a free and independent press.

  Daniel Freund, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, the end of democracy begins when politicians go after journalists. First, they discredit them as mainstream or liberal or Western. Next, they call them liars or fake news. Then they try to stop their publications with strategic lawsuits. Next, they cut their funding or take away their broadcasting licence and, eventually, some don’t shy away from physical attacks, intimidation or even murder.

Dear colleagues, this playbook has not only been used by Putin or Xi Jinping. This is a playbook that is used right here inside the European Union. Autocrats build their empires on lies and corruption, and they’ll, of course, do everything to silence those that try to expose them. Corruption is the reason that Ján Kuciak was murdered, corruption is the reason that Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered, corruption is the reason that Klubrádió lost its broadcasting licence, and corruption is the reason why Hungarian journalists are spied on with Pegasus.

It’s on all of us, as democrats, to protect journalists and free media. It’s on us to stand with them, even when they write things we might not like – which happens as a politician – because protecting free media and protecting journalists is about protecting our democracy. We need to join journalists in their fight against corruption. After 12 years and the near total control of Fidesz over Hungarian media, the European Union finally needs to act. And let’s act on rule of law issues in Poland before the last independent TV channel has to stop broadcasting because the end of autocrats is when democratic politicians stand with journalists.

  Nicolaus Fest, im Namen der ID-Fraktion. – Frau Präsidentin! Tja, wenn ich mir hier so die Sitze angucke, dann scheint das Interesse an Journalismus nicht so ungeheuer hoch zu sein.

Ich selbst habe über 20 Jahre im Journalismus gearbeitet. Das Blatt, für das ich arbeitete, war selber das Ziel zahlreicher SLAPP-Prozesse. Ich habe erlebt, wie wir Kollegen zu Grabe getragen haben, weil sie in Kriegsgebieten erschossen wurden, und zwar wurden diese Angriffe gezielt vorgenommen, um eben den Journalismus zu unterdrücken.

Aber man sollte am Freedom Day des Journalismus auch über die Probleme sprechen, die der Journalismus hat. Wir alle wissen, wie ungeheuer wichtig er für die Demokratie ist und dafür, die Leute zu informieren. Aber man sollte eben auch darauf hinweisen, was den Journalismus gefährdet. Und den Journalismus gefährden eben auch die Gesetzesvorschläge, die aus diesem Hause kommen.

Wenn ich lese, dass man versucht, Hatespeech und Desinformation zu unterdrücken, aber – ich selber bin im Innenausschuss – bis heute noch nicht definieren konnte, was eigentlich Hatespeech und Desinformation im Einzelnen sein sollen, dann begeben wir uns hier auf ein sehr abschüssiges Gleis, auf einen abschüssigen Weg, der in der Zensur endet. Weil der, der die Macht hat zu sagen, was denn nun Desinformation ist, der kann den Journalismus bestimmen oder eben auch abwürgen.

Und wenn ich dann in Ausschüssen erlebe, dass jede Kritik an Gender oder auch an Migration sofort als Desinformation gebrandmarkt wird, und wenn ich erlebe, dass die Kommissionspräsidentin von der Leyen Kritik an ihrer Impfstoffbeschaffung als Desinformation bezeichnet – das ist eine Desinformation, die in allen westlichen Zeitungen geschrieben stand, also in der Frankfurter Allgemeinen, im Spiegel, in der Süddeutschen, in den englischen Zeitungen –, dann muss man sich wirklich fragen, ob der Begriff der Desinformation nicht der erste Schritt auf dem Weg in die Zensur ist.

Also: Wir sollten da sehr aufpassen. Ich begrüße natürlich, dass die Kommission versucht, zumindest die finanziellen Probleme des Journalismus ein bisschen abzufedern. Aber auch das ist ein abschüssiger Weg. Ein Journalismus, der von Geldgaben der Regierenden abhängig ist, wird auf Dauer nicht unabhängig sein. Deshalb kann ich auch nur davor warnen, dass man auf diesem Weg weitergeht.

Ehrlich gesagt: Die Leute denken seit über 20 Jahren darüber nach, wie man den Journalismus finanziell wieder auf eine solide Plattform stellen kann. So richtig ist das noch keinem der vielen Manager eingefallen, aber ganz sicherlich der falsche Weg ist es, dies über die Regierung zu machen. Auch darüber sollten wir am World Freedom Day der Presse nachdenken.

  Dace Melbārde, ECR grupas vārdā. – Priekšsēdētāja! Godātā komisāre! Godātie kolēģi! Pagājušajā ceturtdienā, kad Ukrainā viesojās ANO ģenerālsekretārs, Krievija ar raķetēm apšaudīja Kijivu. Šī simboliskā Putina vēlme pazemot ANO diemžēl prasīja arī radiostacijas “Radio Svoboda” žurnālistes Viras Hiričas dzīvību, un viņa ir divdesmit trešā šajā karā nogalinātā žurnāliste. Daļu no šiem žurnālistiem Krievijas armija ir nogalinājusi apzināti — jo viņi veic savus profesionālos pienākumus.

Putina pasaules redzējumā nav vietas patiesībai un faktiem. Iekarotāji un izvarotāji ir miera nesēji, genocīds ir atbrīvošana, zaudējums ir uzvara. Neatkarīga žurnālistika šādu pasaules redzējumu traucē. Tāpēc Krievijā tā vairs nav iespējama — ir jāmelo vai jāklusē. Daudzi žurnālisti tādejādi ir atstājuši savu dzimteni, ir spiesti bēgt uz Eiropas Savienību, cerībā turpināt darbu drošā vidē.

Taču Putins nekad nav aprobežojies ar vārda brīvības iznīcināšanu tikai Krievijā. Digitālajā vidē Kremļa propagandisti, boti un troļļi uzbrūk neatkarīgajiem medijiem, kas informē par kara noziegumiem Ukrainā, bloķē to kontus un saturu.

Tas ir ģeopolitiskais konteksts, kādā mums šodien jāskatās uz žurnālistu drošību un aizsardzību. Vienlaikus mēs nedrīkstam aizmirst par žurnālistu sociālo drošību, ko saasinājis mediju ieņēmumu kritums. Mums beidzot ir jāpieņem tiesiskais regulējums pret stratēģiskajām tiesvedībām, un jaunajam digitālās vides regulējumam ir jāparedz arī platformu atbildība par žurnālistu aizsardzību. Tāpat Eiropas Savienībai ir īpaši jāatbalsta neatkarīgi mediji un žurnālisti reģionos, kas ir visvairāk pakļauti Kremļa ietekmei.

Un visbeidzot — mums ir jāpārtrauc Kremļa propagandu uzskatīt par žurnālistiku un nodrošināt tiem Eiropas kabeļtīklus un satelītresursus,bet mums ir jāsniedz atbalsts neatkarīgajiem krievu medijiem un žurnālistiem. Tāpat mūsu atbalsts ir nepieciešams Ukrainas žurnālistiem, kas kopā ar savas zemes aizstāvjiem cīnās par savu brīvību.

  Κωνσταντίνος Αρβανίτης, εξ ονόματος της ομάδας The Left. – Κυρία πρόεδρε, τριάντα χρόνια κάνω αυτή τη δουλειά, είμαι δημοσιογράφος, και θα μας λείψουν κάποιοι συνάδελφοι σήμερα που δεν μπορούν να τιμήσουν την Παγκόσμια Ημέρα Τύπου. Να τη λένε Δάφνη, να τον λένε Γιώργο Καραϊβάζ, να τους λένε με τα ονόματά τους, αυτούς που χάθηκαν στα μέτωπα της Ουκρανίας; Πάντως, στην Ευρώπη πλανάται ένα μεγάλο ερώτημα —αυτό είναι το θέμα—, ποιος εξουσιάζει ποιον: εξουσιάζουν οι μεγιστάνες των ΜΜΕ μέσω του Τύπου την εκάστοτε πολιτική εξουσία, ή μήπως η πολιτική εξουσία μέσω των ιδιοκτητών προσπαθεί να επιβάλει πολιτικές;

Από τη νίκη του Μπερλουσκόνι στην Ιταλία, φάνηκε καθαρά ότι μια καμπάνα χτυπάει. Ότι, δηλαδή, τα οικονομικά συμφέροντα έχουν τον έλεγχο των μέσων ενημέρωσης, και βεβαίως την εξουσία. Κι αυτό είναι σοβαρό θέμα εμπλοκής της πολιτικής στη Δημοκρατία μας. Ολιγοπώλια και μεγιστάνες, από τον Νότο προς τον Βορρά. Βλέπουμε ότι αυτό το φαινόμενο τείνει να γίνει μια νέα πραγματικότητα. Μια νέα πραγματικότητα, ένα ιδιότυπο καθεστώς στον χώρο των μέσων ενημέρωσης. Και δεν φτάνει μόνο αυτό, από τις διώξεις των δημοσιογράφων, από τις απολύσεις δημοσιογράφων, έχουμε φτάσει στις δολοφονίες, στον οικονομικό στραγγαλισμό των μη συστημικών μέσων ενημέρωσης, καθώς οι ολιγάρχες, αφού τους το επιτρέπει το νομικό πλαίσιο, έχουν στην κατοχή τους το σύνολο της παραγωγικής διαδικασίας της είδησης, από την παραγωγή μέχρι και το πρακτορείο. Εδώ μιλάμε ξεκάθαρα πια για μια υπερσυγκέντρωση εξουσίας, αλλά και από την άλλη, δημιουργείται ένα θολό τοπίο, όπου χάνεται η βασική έννοια της διάκρισης των εξουσιών. Μονοπωλιακά οικονομικά συμφέροντα και εξουσία, μέσα ενημέρωσης και πολιτική εξουσία, πολιτική εξουσία και δικαιοσύνη.

Αυτό που σας περιγράφω, πείτε μου ποια χώρα σας φέρει στο μυαλό· την Ουγγαρία, την Πολωνία, την Ελλάδα, την Ιταλία; Νομίζω ότι είναι πλέον ένα νέο καθεστώς στην Ευρώπη και πρέπει να το δούμε πάρα πολύ σοβαρά. Να σας πω κάτι πιο συγκεκριμένο: δολοφονία δημοσιογράφων. Τον δικό μας τον λένε Γιώργο Καραϊβάζ. Παρακολουθήσεις από την Εθνική Υπηρεσία Πληροφοριών, την οποία έχει στη δικαιοδοσία του ο πρωθυπουργός. Τον δικό μας δημοσιογράφο τον λένε Κουκάκη. Μεγάλες διώξεις δημοσιογράφων. Τη λένε Γιάννα Παπαδάκου. Τον λένε Κώστα Βαξεβάνη. Και, βεβαίως, ο εκφοβισμός όσων τολμούν να κάνουν ερωτήσεις με την πάγια πλέον θέση των SLAPP, λίστες οικονομικής στήριξης, που λέγεται σε εμάς λίστα Πέτσα.

Για να κλείσουμε, για την προστασία των ανθρώπων του Τύπου, για την Ελευθεροτυπία, για τη Δημοκρατία, για τους συναδέλφους που χάθηκαν, που δολοφονήθηκαν, για τον Τεντέν που μας μεγάλωσε. Ένα σύνθημα μπορεί να ακουστεί: μέτρα νομοθετικά τώρα και λευτεριά στον Τεντέν! Δεν θα έβρισκε πουθενά δουλειά ο Τεντέν στις σημερινές συνθήκες.

  Miroslav Radačovský (NI). – Vážená pani predsedajúca. Namiesto všeobecných ideologických floskúl chcel by som sa skôr zaoberať skutočnosťou pragmatickou, a to skutočnosťou ochrany novinárov a ľudskoprávnych organizácií pred šikanóznymi, neodôvodnenými žalobami, ktoré znepríjemňujú život a ktoré sú predovšetkým doménou silných, bohatých a tých, čo majú na to finančné prostriedky, aby sa takýmto spôsobom ubránili buď voči investigatívnym novinárom, alebo voči tomu, aby sa poukazovalo na niektoré ich nekalé činnosti.

Je nespochybniteľné, že každý procesne spôsobilý subjekt má právo sa žalobou domáhať na súde ochrany svojich práv a oprávnených záujmov. Toto právo však nemôže byť bezbrehé. Toto právo nemôže byť zneužívané na šikanózne, neakceptovateľné žaloby, znepríjemňujúce žalovanému subjektu život. A preto v tomto smere je potrebné urobiť príslušné opatrenia aj zo strany Komisie, ktoré už sú niektoré navrhované, ale aj zo strany národných štátov.

Sú to opatrenia v oblasti procesného práva a v oblasti ochrany novinárov proti fyzickým útokom, v oblasti trestného práva. Podľa môjho názoru je nevyhnutné, že by takéto žaloby, ktorým jednoducho nemôžeme zabrániť, mali nutné prvky obligatórnosti, ktoré sú výnimočné a rozdielne od iných žalôb.

Predovšetkým, žalujúca strana by mala byť zastúpená zo zákona, tak, ako je to v správnom konaní a v iných konaniach, advokátom, pretože je síce pravdou, že bohatí ľudia si advokáta zaplatia, ale predsa len, štatút advokáta je určitým spôsobom honorom, ktorý by mohol nejakým spôsobom obmedziť takéto šikanózne žaloby.

Za ďalšie, bolo by potrebné upraviť zákony o poplatkoch, o návrhoch, kde by takýto poplatok mal byť zvýšený na časť takú, aby nemohol hocikto a hocikedy tieto žaloby podávať. Nič by sa tým neudialo. V prípade úspechu takýto poplatok by sa vrátil.

Ďalšia skutočnosť, ktorá je veľmi rozhodujúca, je potrebné, aby obligatórne boli do trestných príslušných poriadkov nariadené predbežné prejednanie takejto žaloby, bez účasti strán v konaní, a aby žalovaná strana, a to je veľmi dôležité, v konkrétnom prípade novinári alebo ľudskoprávne organizácie, mali nárok, zo zákona, na bezplatnú právnu pomoc prostredníctvom štátnych centier právnej pomoci.

Samozrejme, je potom nevyhnutné mať ďalšie a ďalšie úpravy, ale na to asi dve minúty nestačia. Dalo by sa o tom veľmi veľa rozprávať. To je otázka úpravy občianskeho procesného práva. Nevyhnutná.

A potom tu existuje aj nebezpečenstvo fyzických útokov. Toto už je doménou trestného. práva. Je nevyhnutné, aby boli vytvorené na príslušných policajných oddeleniach špecializované tímy, tak ako sú pre rôzne činnosti, drogová trestná činnosť, iba iná idea, týkajúce sa výlučne len tejto ochrany novinárov.

Teda musím končiť. Uplynuli dve minúty. Vedel by som o tom rozprávať veľmi veľa.

  Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, honourable Members, thank you very much for this debate, which assured me that I will have the support of Parliament for ongoing work to protect the media in the EU.

I said before that the EU has never done so much in the field of media, and it is maybe because we hear from many different sides ‘do not regulate media, they have to remain free’. This is exactly what we want. We want rather than regulate, we want to support, to protect and to give the media sufficient space and protection in the EU because we need a well—functioning media sector for our democracy.

We discussed today about SLAPP or anti—SLAPP and as Tiemo Wӧlken said, we owe it to the journalists because we see too many processes and too many cases of abuse of justice, against freedom of speech, in fact. As the former Justice Commissioner, I have to fight against that. I do not want our courts to be abused. There is something elementarily unfair or incorrect.

We have to narrow the space for abuse of justice. And why? Also because we see that the goal of these abusive litigations is the process itself. And the longer and the more costly, the better for those who complain and who abuse the system. So this is not what European justice should be used for.

This is a pioneering exercise. Ramona Strugariu said that it has not been easy to come to this point. It will not be easy to come to the point of the final adoption because I had a debate with the Ministers of Justice, and only some understood fully why we need to act. I am not criticizing them, I just say that this is surprisingly new for many of them and that it will require a lot of work not only to convince them to say yes to the cross—border directive or the directive which is looking into cross—border cases, which are always more costly and more difficult. We are doing it for a very good purpose, but at the same time to convince them to address the issues of domestic cases.

The argument I heard from the ministers mainly was that we have to balance or guarantee free access to Courts for everyone. Even the rich and powerful person has the right to go to the Court when he is facing some unprofessional behaviour from the side of the journalist or human rights or rights defenders. It can happen.

So, I will keep promising to the Ministers of Justice that we will, in any case, balance these rights. I think already the text itself of the legislation shows that we tried to find the right balance.

I said that never before so much attention to media. When you look into our rule of law reports, there is a very strong chapter on media. We are mapping the situation in all the Member States this year. For the first time we will issue the recommendations. This might be a very strong instrument for the years to come, to have the proper insight on how the media situation looks like in the Member States and what might be the measures to be taken.

In the rest of my time – I have a generous five minutes, so I will use it in full. We have to do more for the media, especially now when we are in the information war. Now we see things very clearly what we didn’t see several years ago. I have to say I was calling on action already several years ago when I saw that disinformation is part of the Russian military doctrine.

It was openly known that disinformation will be used as a weapon and they are exactly doing this, and disinformation can be very efficient. Russian disinformation already is bearing fruits and it has the potential to do a lot of dirty work in the EU. That’s why we have to fight against disinformation by all means, and not to forget that our primary obligation is also to protect freedom of speech.

But freedom of speech cannot be absolute and is not absolute in the EU. We have laws which are limiting the freedom of speech. Nicolaus Fest said that it is not defined anywhere, but hate speech is defined in all the Member States penal courts. It is clearly defined. As for disinformation, we define it in several strategic papers and also in the Digital Services Act it’s defined in the way of harmful content. If we give the freedom of speech absolute power, then we also absolutely resign on the truth. I truly believe that we must not be naive, especially now, in war time. We have to defend ourselves.

We see how disinformation works. It’s not new. It was here already since 2014 and the annexation of Crimea. We saw a lot of disinformation campaigns against Ukraine and our campaigns which were organised to influence and manipulate European people. What we saw in COVID time, disinformation was used as a poison. Now in the Ukrainian war, disinformation is used as a weapon. This is why we have to act.

Sorry, I had to also mention this because in the fight against disinformation, the media, the professional journalists, play an extremely important role because we need to get the facts right and we need the European people to understand the situation and make their own decisions and choices based on trustworthy facts. This is the job of the media, and that’s why we have to protect journalists.

  President. – The debate is closed.

Written statements (Rule 171)

  Sirpa Pietikäinen (PPE), kirjallinen. – On ilmiselvää, että nyky-yhteiskunnissamme tarvitsemme kipeästi laadukasta journalistista sisältöä ja riippumatonta mediaa nostamaan esille ja tulkitsemaan piileviä epäkohtia sekä raportoimaan luotettavasti paikan päältä. Tämä on korostunut muun muassa Ukrainan sodan aikana. Tarvitsemme viestintää, johon voi luottaa. Tarvitsemme vahvan kansainvälisen sopimuksen, joka suojelee toimittajia ja sananvapauttamme globaalisti. Lisäksi EU:n tulisi auttaa kolmansissa maissa työnsä vuoksi hengenvaarassa olevia toimittajia erityisellä suojelu- ja viisumiohjelmalla, jollaista olen aiemmin ehdottanut naisihmisoikeuspuolustajille.

Koska demokratiamme kohtaavat monia haasteita, kuten laajalle levinnyttä disinformaatiota ja misinformaatiota sekä valeuutisia ja niitä levittäviä trollitehtaita, meidän on luotava sellainen ympäristö, jossa media voi täyttää tehtävänsä sekä vallan vahtikoirana että neljäntenä valtiomahtina. Kansalaisilla tulee olla pääsy monipuolisiin ja riippumattomiin uutislähteisiin ja toimittajien työolot ja turvallisuus on taattava. On valitettavaa, että kehitys Euroopassakin on ollut tässä asiassa viime vuosina negatiivista. Vapaa media on demokratian elinehto, ja meidän pitää tehdä kaikkemme toimittajien turvallisuuden takaamiseksi joka tilanteessa.

VORSITZ: OTHMAR KARAS
Vizepräsident