Oikonomou: The government welcomes the European Act on the freedom of the Media

The European Act for the freedom of Media greets the government representative Giannis Oikonomou.

More specifically, in his statement he states:

“The Greek Government welcomes the European Act on the freedom of the Media, the new set of rules approved by the European Commission to protect the pluralism and independence of the Media in the European Union, which includes a new Proposal for Regulation, as well as supplementary Recommendation to all member states.

With the Commission’s landmark initiative for the formation of a common European framework for the Media, their key role in democratic societies is recognized, as is their offer as guardians of the public good of information, as common safeguards are proposed at the Union level, both for the strengthening of pluralism, transparency and independence of the media, as well as for the defense of the journalistic profession, transforming into practice political priorities and permanent positions of our country, which the Government embraces and strongly defends during its representation in the various institutional institutions of the European Union.

Besides, the initiatives included in the new framework presented by the Commission are coordinated with many of the initiatives for independent, innovative and sustainable Media which the Greek Government has already launched, defending their role as pillars of Democracy and guardians of the Rule of Law, in an open and transparent market that promotes pluralism and freedom of expression.

I remind you that, regarding the legislative initiatives and policies of the Government, regarding the protection of freedom of expression and pluralism, the protection of the journalistic profession, the support of press companies and the strengthening of the transparency and independence of the media, I had the opportunity to present in detail and in evidence to the Vice-President of the Commission and Commissioner for Values ​​and Transparency, Věra Jourová, during our discussion on the challenges for media freedom in Greece, last May in Brussels.

Already then I had emphasized that our country is one of the most active partners of the European Union, in terms of assisting the Commission’s future initiatives, and the Vice-President welcomed our strong support.

So today, when these initiatives are a reality, we reiterate our support as, apart from everything else, the new strong institutional framework for the freedom of the Media was missing from the legal arsenal of the European Union. This absence, on the one hand, deprived the member states of the implementation of uniform and largely common policies to deal with the contemporary challenges in the field of mass media, on the other hand, it offered space for the creation of impressions, regarding the freedom of the press in member states, as they were caused from various reports – coming from outside the institutions of the European Union – of unclear or even controversial methodology. The establishment of a single framework will henceforth be the safest and most objective criterion for the level of pluralism and pluralism in each member state.

In conclusion, we express our readiness to actively participate in the relevant discussions that will take place in the meetings of the competent bodies of the European Union, within the framework of the usual legislative procedure, where we will have the opportunity to support our positions in substance, ensuring the most effective possible promotion of the interests and policies of our country, as well as to discuss with our partners to find the ways and best practices by which the Commission’s proposal will be implemented in practice”.

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