Western Balkans: Hahn warns, media freedom is non-negotiable
Priority to join EU.Politicians and media share responsabilities
09 November, 18:53The Commissioner addressed directly to political leaders and media organisations of the region who share "responsibilities".
"Political leaders in candidate and applicant countries are responsible for guaranteeing media freedom, including the security and decent living conditions of journalists," he told.
On the other side, media can help democracy overcoming "polarisation" and improving "the ethnic tensions" by "respecting standards and providing objective, unbiased reporting".
Hahn warned that the European Commission has noted "a wide misuse of defamation lawsuits to hinder the work of critical journalists" and therefore has "alerted" the six Western Balkans countries. "Freedom of media is an important indicator of the functioning of Rule of Law", he added, which is one of the key priorities to make the hope to join the EU come true.(ANSA).