Over 150 journalists, representatives of national media regulators and press councils, as well as academics, politicians, and civil society activists are gathering at the Solidarność Centre in Gdansk, Poland for a conference on “Free European Media”.
The event, taking place on 15-16 February, has been organised by the European Federation of Journalists in cooperation with the Council of Europe, the Nordic Journalism Centre, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom and the International Press Institute, with the support of the Polish authorities and journalists associations.
Participants will examine the current state of press freedom from several angles: keeping new media and independent journalism free from state control; pluralism as a factor to encourage and sustain democracy; how legislation violates media freedom; and the role of ethical standards and self-censorship.
Patrick Penninckx, Head of the Information Society Department, will address a message of support for freedom of expression, expressing growing concerns and explaining new initiatives and tools promoted by the Council of Europe.
The conference will also examine how media are affected in certain target areas in Europe, drawing on data from the Media Pluralism Monitor and the study on self-censorship. Particular attention will focus on the media situation in countries where democracy is in decline or under threat, as highlighted by the alerts on the Platform for the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists and as a follow-up to the Report on press freedom and media pluralism carried out by the High-Level Group and delivered to the EU Commission.
