Italy: Calls for constructive dialogue on media freedom recommendations

The Media Rapid Response (MFRR) partners stand in solidarity with journalists in Italy and call for an immediate end to all forms of attacks against them. We encourage all key stakeholders, including institutional ones, to join forces in enhancing the protection of journalists and media professionals.

The MFRR is a network of six media freedom organisations committed to working towards a resilient and free media landscape, including through conducting fact-finding and advocacy missions to assess the situation on the ground.

Amidst a documented increase in attacks on the press and media freedom landscape in Italyrecorded by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) on its Mapping Media Freedom platform, the MFRR consortium organised an advocacy missionto Rome on 16-17 May 2024. The mission aimed to address concerns about the state of media freedom with Italian policymakers, review recent developments, and formulate recommendations that align with European Union and international standards.

Following a transparent methodology that applies to all MFRR missions, the MFRR delegation requested meetings with representatives for several public bodies, journalists from various media outlets, journalists' trade unions, and civil society organisations in Italy.

The consortium always recognises the value of engaging with representatives from the ruling government and opening a dialogue with them to discuss the state of media freedom. This is a standard practice that the MFRR adopts in all country missions across Europe. Despite numerous meeting requests being sent to a number of representatives of the ruling coalition, all of them were either declined or unanswered, which did not allow the MFRR to include their potential input in the mission report publishedon 29 July.

The MFRR regrets that since the publication of the report, some of the journalists with whom the delegation met have been targeted with verbal abusediscrediting their role and work.Under no circumstances should journalists be stigmatised or denigrated. The MFRR wishes to reiterate that the journalists, as well as all the other stakeholders that the delegation met in Rome, were by no means co-authors of the MFRR mission's report. The mission and the report were carried out with complete impartiality and independence by the members of the MFRR consortium, free from any political bias.

The MFRR also emphasises that our report and the European Commission's Report on the Rule of Law are two independent resources. Both studies are based on thorough and quality research, each employing a concrete methodology. Nevertheless, it is essential to differentiate them clearly for greater precision.

Therefore, we call on everyone reporting on this work, including public officials, to refrain from any kind of attack against journalists or media outlets quoted in the report. The MFRR strongly hopes that the report will instead spark an effective debate about its content and recommendations and prompt competent authorities to address the outlined challenges to press and media freedom in the country.

The MFRR will continue to monitor and advocate for press and media freedom in Italy - as it does for all EU Member States and candidate countries - and reiterates its willingness to enter into a constructive dialogue with public officials and representatives of the government to ensure a safe, independent and pluralistic media environment, a cornerstone of a democratic society.

Signed:

OBC Transeuropa (OBCT)

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

ARTICLE 19 Europe

This press release was coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism that tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and candidate countries.

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