Media pluralism and media freedom are key enablers for the rule of law, democratic accountability, equality and the fight against corruption. Independent and pluralistic media, in particular investigative journalism, play an important role in the scrutiny of public affairs, detecting possible corruption and integrity breaches, raising awareness and promoting integrity. Member States have an obligation to guarantee an enabling environment for journalists, protect their safety and proactively promote media freedom and media pluralism. The Commission Recommendation on the protection, safety and empowerment of journalists and other media professionals in the European Union of 16 September 2021, the Commission Recommendation on protecting journalists and human rights defenders who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded or abusive court proceedings (Strategic lawsuits against public participation) of 27 April 2022 as well as Directive (EU) 2024/1069 of the European Parliament and of the Council include important safeguards and standards to ensure that journalists, human rights defenders and others can carry out their role unhindered.
Text as published in the Official Journal, reproduced verbatim (including any typographical quirks of the source). For the authentic version, see EUR-Lex.
