10 Amendments of Irena JOVEVA related to 2021/2036(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that an independent, impartial, professional and responsible free media is a key pillar of democracycornerstone of democracy, a fundamental constitutional value on which the European Union is founded and protected by the EU and its treaties, with freedom of expression and information enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights; expresses serious concerns about the situation in some Member States whereby media laws allow for greater political interfreedom is not guaranteed, journalists, NGOs and representatives from civil society are silenced, harassed, and even physically attacked, creating chilling effects on freedom of expression, limiting the access to the information of public interest; underlines the urgency to propose legislative and non-legislative measures to secure a safer ence; vironment for public watchdogs in the EU;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is concerned that the current COVID-19 pandemic not only continues to have a significant negative impact on public health, social welfare and the economy, but also entails a serious threat to media freedom; warns that governments across the world could use the coronavirus emergency as an excuse to implement draconian new restrictions onifferent restrictive measures limiting the freedom of expression and tightening media censorship; calls on the Commission to mobilise funds to encourage anti-corruption investigative journalism; both online and offline, including by amending criminal legislation by decree, while journalists have been prosecuted or assaulted for reporting about Covid-19 related news1a; calls on the Commission to mobilise funds to support the investigative journalism enabling them to report independently on current affairs, including corruption and abuses of public office; _________________ 1a https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2 020/05/global-crackdown-on-journalists- weakens-efforts-to-tackle- covid19/?fbclid=IwAR0GO09WSuyXFBp- VXhqmQJXuf8Hll81PEAESEkUbIM_slF bAftNGIE3yWQ
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights that Reporters Without Borders1 argue that the next decade will be crucial for ensuring the preservation of media freedom, as it is often threatened by the rise ofadical, populist authoritarian governments; calls on the Member States and the Commission to enforce a legal framework to protect journalists and their sources; _________________ 1 2020 World Press Freedom Index.
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to propose without delay a directive against strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) in order to protect independent media and journalists from vexatious lawsuits intended to silence or intimidate them; considers that a directive against strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) should exclude cases of defamation from the Criminal law in Member States and imprisonment punishments for defamation; calls on the Commission to strike a fair balance between the right to access to justice and the freedom of expression;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Underlines that a directive against SLAPPs should address and proscribe forum shopping, limiting the possibilities for selection of jurisdiction to prosecute defendants in SLAPP cases to domicile country, and amend accordingly the Rome II. and Brussels I regulations relating to cases of defamations; underlines the need to introduce harmonisation of legislation and installing appropriate safeguards across the EU through common minimal standards limiting the availability of SLAPPs against journalists, NGOs and representatives of civil society;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Underlines that a directive against SLAPPs should include provisions for expeditious procedural dismissal of manifestly unfounded cases identified as SLAPPs by judicial authority, protecting the right to participate in public life, without the possibility to appeal to such dismissals and with the right to an effective remedy for the defendants who report breaches of Union law or reveal information in public interest;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Calls on the Commission to complement legislative proposals with non-legislative actions, including creating the EU-wide publicly accessible database or mapping of identified SLAPP cases in all Member States, providing protection and financial or legal assistance to SLAPP victims for exercising the right to defence, and establish effective measures, dedicated judicial training or other actions, for raising awareness among lawyers and judges regarding SLAPP cases and available recourses against SLAPPs;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Is concerned about the increase inof online hate speech, notably against freedom of the press and freedom of expressionverbal abuse, harassment, online smear campaigns, cybercrime and violation of privacy online, notably against free press and the freedom of expression, including political or economic pressure, leading to self- censorship and impairment of editorial freedom; stresses that online threats and harassments are particularly persistent for women journalists to intimidate and discredit them, thus creating professional harm; stresses that online harassment violence against journalists are often accompanying SLAPP suits; stresses the need for better cooperation between authorities and online platform service providers in order to combat hate speech, without destabilisingonline harassments and hate speech, while guarantee the fundamental right to freedom of expression;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Member States to guarantee that the public service media is free from censorship and political influence; invites the Member States, in this regard, to establish the necessary regulatory frameworksimplement the already established regulatory frameworks, such as AVMSD, and cooperate in pilot projects set up by Commission, such as Media Ownership Monitor, to monitor media ownership and ensure full transparency;