In 2023, 281 attacks against female journalists and media workers were recorded in EU and candidate countries, according to the Mapping Media Freedom initiative.
The Liberties report also denounces limited access to information of public interest in EU countries, notably Germany, Hungary, Lithuania and the Netherlands.
“Some governments continue to deny journalists access to documents or events,” we read. “In Hungary, requests from press journalists to public authorities remain unanswered. Formal requests for access to information also tend to go unanswered, or not fulfilled until years later.
In March, the EU Media Freedom Act – an EU-level attempt to safeguard media freedom, media pluralism and editorial independence in the bloc – received final approval from EU institutions.
However, Liberties criticized its effectiveness. “The EMFA fails to resolve many pressing issues in the European media landscape and only addresses a limited number of threats to media freedom and pluralism,” the report said.
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