Activities of Predrag Fred MATIĆ related to 2021/2036(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on strengthening democracy and media freedom and pluralism in the EU: the undue use of actions under civil and criminal law to silence journalists, NGOs and civil society
Amendments (26)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that the Union is founded on the common values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights; Stresses that these values include pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality; Reiterates the fundamental rights of media freedom and pluralism as stated in Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which specifically stresses the need for these to be respected; Underlines that an independent, impartial, professional and responsible media is a key pillar of democracy; expresses serious concerns about the situation in some Member States whereby media laws allow for greater political interference;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recalls that Article 7 of the TEU foresees that the European Council may act to determine the existence of a serious and persistent breach by a Member State of the values referred to in Article 2 and subsequently suspend certain rights deriving from the application of the Treaties to the Member State in question, including the voting rights of the representative of the government of that Member State in the Council;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Is concernalarmed 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 thatimpacts the whole media sector, notably through the revenue drop which causes some of the media organisations to close down and deeply affect the working conditions of journalists and other workers in media organisations; furthermore, is concerned at the fact that the pandemic circumstances and consequences entail serious threat to media freedom for citizens and civil society organisations, including but not limited to restrictions on access to justice and information; stresses that it was shown during the crisis that media and journalist reporting was crucial in transferring accurate information to the citizens; warns that many governments across the world couldare trying to use the coronavirus emergency as an excuse to implement draconian new restrictions on freedom of expression and tighten media censorship; calls on the Commission to mobilise funds to encourage anti- corruption investigative journalism;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Acknowledges that the digital shift has profoundly changed the media landscape, with new patterns to search, access, curate, share or retrieve online news items, stresses that this has increased the market pressure on smaller media organisations, in particular local news media, exacerbated market concentration and often set unfair competition conditions, which put at risk the long-term existence and economic sustainability of already vulnerable media outlets and thereby the diversity of media players;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Stresses that independent, socially responsible and economically and financially sustainable media are essential for quality journalism and instrumental to resist intimidation meant to result in censorhip or self-censorship;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2 c. Considers that not only journalists and editorial teams, but also all permanent and temporary staff of media organisations are too often subject to precarious working conditions, and should be subject to the highest protection standards; Recalls that the intellectual property rights of journalists need to be properly implemented and the value of their work appropriately recognised and valued;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission toStresses the need to closely follow and appropriately act when governments or powerful individuals use legal measures to silence critics and opponents, such as for example strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) or laws curtailing the right to freedom of expression in a manner which is incompatible with individuals' fundamental rights; Calls on the Commission to follow-up on its European Democracy Action Plan and propose a directive against strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) in order to protect independent media and journalists from vexatious lawsuits or malicious threats to initiate lawsuits intended to silence or intimidate them;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Welcomes the inclusion in the Commission annual report on the Rule of Law a specific chapter on monitoring media freedom and pluralism; Urges the Commission to closely monitor the situation in the Member States and provide an assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of the national frameworks for the protection of media freedom and media pluralism, including any undue use of actions under civil and criminal law to silence journalists, NGOs and civil society;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Expresses concern by recent developments in some Member States where media freedom and pluralism are deteriorating and journalists and media workers are subjected to threats, abuses and crimes; Calls on the Commission to include in the country chapters of future Rule of Law report an overview of the attacks against journalists across the Union and the responses provided by Member States in this regard;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Underlines that, by reporting breaches of Union law that are harmful to the public interest, whistle-blowers play a key role in exposing and preventing such breaches and in safeguarding the welfare of society; Insists that the confidentiality of journalistic sources shall be preserved, and effective and secure reporting channels in place in every organisation to protect whistle-blowers against retaliation;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4 e. Welcomes the Commission's Assessment of the Code of Practice on Disinformation in 20203a , the publication of guidelines to correct shortcomings and the establishment of tools and measures to stop online platforms from making money on disinformation and empower users to understand and flag up disinformation, enhance transparency on ad placement and halt manipulative behaviour; Supports the strengthening of collaboration across media and borders and the set-up of a European Digital Media Observatory, Urges the Commission to draw-up on its findings and propose a legislation to improve notably the transparency of political advertising; _________________ 3aEuropean Commission, Assessment of the Code of Practice on Disinformation
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 f (new)
Paragraph 4 f (new)
4 f. Welcomes the launch of the "NEWS" initiative under the Media and Audiovisual Actio Plan 4a set out by the Commission in December 2020; Underlines, however, the need for clarification on its scope, financing and functioning; _________________ 4aEurope’s Media in the Digital Decade: An Action Plan to Support Recovery and Transformation
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 g (new)
Paragraph 4 g (new)
4 g. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to increase support available for the news media organisations, with special attention to SMEs, local and regional media outlets and radio stations, Stresses that allocations for the media sector should increased across various multiannual framework (MFF) programmes;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Welcomes the introduction of new actions under the cross-sectoral stand of the Creative Europe Programme 5a, to enhance media freedom, quality journalism and media literacy; Reiterates the need for professional workers in the media sector to benefit from training to adapt their work according to technological, societal or other developments; Encourages the continuation and expansion of media literacy in education curricula to empower everyone with the means to access information, detect disinformation and develop critical thinking; _________________ 5a Creative Europe Programme 2021-2027
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Recalls that journalist are subject to varied employment conditions and often work under freelance contracts; Stresses therefore the need for adequate professional and trade union representation and effective social dialogue to ensure stable and fair working conditions for journalists and media workers;
Amendment 50 #
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 frameworks to monitor media ownership and ensure full transparency; in addition stresses the importance of independent in-house media regulatory mechanisms for all situations and processes within the media house as to ensure that all workers and employees are protected at all stages; Stresses the problem of media organisations filling lawsuits against their own journalists and media workers and emphasises the importance of independence monitory and regulatory mechanisms in those situations;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Calls on all Member States to swiftly implement the Audiovisual Media Services Directive6a as revised in 2018 in all its provisions; Calls on the Commission to closely monitor development in this regard with special attention to Article 30 provisions on the role, powers and independence of audiovisual media services regulators; Insists that national regulatory authorities or bodies shall exercise their powers impartially and transparently and in accordance with the objectives of this Directive, in particular media pluralism, cultural and linguistic diversity, consumer protection, accessibility, non- discrimination, the proper functioning of the internal market and the promotion of fair competition; and that national regulatory authorities or bodies should have adequate financial and human resources and enforcement powers to carry out their functions effectively and to contribute to the work of the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual media services (ERGA); _________________ 6aAudiovisual Media Services Directive of 14 November 2018
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6 b. Welcomes the setting-up of ERGA and encourages cooperation within the internal market among audiovisual regulatory bodies, as well as with other regulatory bodies of relevance for online news activities;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6 d. Observes that overprotective defamation laws may have a chilling effect on freedom of expression and public debate, in line with recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) 7a calls on Member States to precisely define the concept of defamation in their legislation so as to avoid an arbitrary application of the law, to guarantee that there is no misuse of criminal prosecution for defamation, to safeguard the independence of prosecutors in these cases, and to ensure that civil law provides effective protection of the dignity of persons affected by defamation; further calls on Member States to set resonable and proportionate maximum amounts for awards for damages and interest in defamation cases so that the viability of a defendant media organ is not placed at risk and to provide appropriate legal guarantees against awards for damages and interest that are disproportionate to the actual injury; _________________ 7aFreedom of expression in the media in Europe, Recommendation 1589
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6 e. Welcomes the launch of the Conference on the Future of Europe and calls on the Commission and Member States to make the best use of its forthcoming conclusions to strengthen the participative democratic functioning of societies;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 f (new)
Paragraph 6 f (new)
6 f. Recalls that according to the definition proposed by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe 8a hate speech covers all forms of expressions that spread, incite, promote or justify racial hatred, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or other other forms of hatred based on intolerance; Expresses concerns at the development and spreading online hate speech with wide-ranging consequences on people's wellbeing and safety; Calls on the Commission and Member States to draft guidelines to further delineate and combat hate speech online; _________________ 8aCommittee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Recommendation No.R. (97) 20
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 g (new)
Paragraph 6 g (new)
6 g. Stresses the importance of gender mainstreaming at all levels in the media sector as it is an outlet reflecting the diversity of society and as such must uphold to the fundamental right of equality and non-discrimination; Recalls the need for gender balance on screen and behind the camera as well as on all other levels and positions; Emphasises that female journalists face the same pressures as their colleagues in content- related issues but more often are faced with sexual violence and harassment and there has been a journalist "MeToo movement as a result of this situation; Calls on the Commission and Member States to address these gender gaps and discrimination and take action towards achieving gender equality within the sector;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 h (new)
Paragraph 6 h (new)
6 h. Stresses that one of the negative consequences of the media freedom deteriorating is the increase in the scapegoating and targeting of minorities and vulnerable groups, for example against LGBTIQ+ persons, migrants and refugees, resulting in an increase in hate speech against these groups and censorship of media; Calls on the Commission to monitor and examine these interlinks in its future reports, especially the effect that hate crimes and hate speech have on discrimination in the Union;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. EncouraUrges the Member States and the Commission to introduce effective measures to ensure better protection for the personal safety of journalists, in particular investigative journalists. and looks forward to the announced Commission recommendation on ensuring safety of journalists in the European Union; Calls for such recommendation to include measures on the safety of all journalists employed by European media organisations in the EU and third countries, with particular attention to those reporting from conflict or high-risk countries;