Brussels, 31 May 2022
Tomorrow, Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová will be visiting Leipzig, Germany for a series of discussions on media freedom and pluralism. She will discuss the safety of journalists, in particular in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine, as well as the preparation of the European Media Freedom Act.
She will visit the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, leading EU co-funded projects, and the regional broadcaster Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. She will also participate in a panel discussion at the Media Days event. She will hold bilateral meetings with the Minister-President of Saxony Michael Kretschmer, State Minister Oliver Schenk, in charge of media, and Norbert Himmler, Chairman of German public-service
The Vice-President will outline the work of the Commission on these topics including the recently adopted package to tackle Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) that provides journalists and human rights defenders with tools to fight back against abusive court proceedings, the European Democracy Action Plan, the Commission’s Recommendation on the safety of journalists as well as the upcoming European Media Freedom Act. You will also find more information on the Commission’s financial support geared at fostering media freedom and pluralism here and the Commission’s annual rule of law reports which also address media freedom issues here.