The independence of media has come under immense pressure in Italy. Giorgia Meloni’s government has been increasingly exerting its power over RAI, Italy’s national broadcaster, by ousting managers and TV hosts from their posts and by censoring programmes that are critical of the government. Moreover, recently journalists and newspapers have been consistently attacked by members of the government, shutting down dissenting voices and hindering media independence.
The European Movement International (EMI), with the support of a group of media and journalists’ organisations from the international, European and national level, has sent a letter to Vera Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission, calling for the launch of an investigation into the Italian government’s attempts to capture media and public information, in line with the standards of the European Media Freedom Act and the EU’s fundamental values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU).
Moreover, we call upon the European Commission to ensure a level playing field during the campaigns for the European Parliament elections to allow for the fair and equal participation of all the different political forces in the media.
For the full letter, click HERE.
The signatories include:
- European Federation of Journalists (EFJ);
- European Movement International (EMI);
- Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana (FNSI);
- International Federation of Journalists (IFJ);
- Media Diversity Institute Global (MDI Global);
- OBC Transeuropa.
Protect media freedom, stand up for democracy!
