Prohibition of media in the EU

Priority question for written answer P-001607/2024
to the Commission
Rule 144
Tomasz Froelich (ESN)

At the instigation of the German Minister for the Interior, Nancy Faeser, the magazine Compact was to be prohibited through the back door by means of a ban on association[1]. The Federal Administrative Court provisionally suspended this prohibition, deeming it disproportionate and considering that more lenient means, such as media supervision, should have been chosen to ensure freedom of expression and freedom of the press[2].

• 1.Does this action by the German Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, endanger freedom of the press in Germany and the European Union?
• 2.Is the Commission aware of any other cases of successful or failed attempts to ban media in the Member States of the European Union, and if so, which?

Submitted: 3.9.2024

• [1] Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community: 'Major blow against the far-right scene: Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, bans the limited company 'COMPACT-Magazin GmbH', press release, 16 July 2024
• [2] Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht): 'Federal Administrative Court partially suspends immediate enforcement of the COMPACT ban', press release, 14 August 2024