The progress in aligning Ukraine's media and freedom of expression legislation with the European standards, including the EU legislation, was discussed recently in Kyiv, between the members of the Ukrainian Parliament and the Council of Europe Secretariat. Specifically, the MPs discussed the implementation of the  Law "On Media", prepared with the Council of Europe’s assistance, as well as plans for future cooperation, which include implementation of the Council of Europe Campaign for the Safety of Journalists, “Journalists Matter”, and fighting disinformation.

Mr Erlend Falch, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, commended Ukraine's significant progress in promoting freedom of expression, while also expressing concern over ongoing threats to media freedom. The MPs, including Mr Mykyta Poturaev, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, Ms Yevhenia Kravchuk, Deputy Chair of the same Committee, and Mr Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Freedom of Speech, thanked the Council of Europe for support and agreed on the next steps within the project.

The Council of Europe Project “Safeguarding Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Media in Ukraine” (SFEM-UA) is implemented by the Council of Europe’s  Division for Cooperation on Freedom of Expression, within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” (2023-2026).