Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Permanent Council No. 619
13 July 2006

The European Union is pleased to welcome Mr. Haraszti to the Permanent Council once again and thanks him for his report. The length and scope of the report are a testament to the demands placed on the Representative on Freedom of the Media. We welcome the report on the media situation in Kosovo and are pleased to note that the situation appears to be developing in a positive fashion. We look forward to the report on Armenia and will study it closely.

The European Union attaches great importance to the work of the Representative and his Office and we welcome the fact that he is active both east and west of Vienna, throughout the OSCE region. Free and independent media are fundamental to any functioning democracy and free society. The EU Member States which are the subject of comment in the report have taken careful note and will maintain contact with the Representative and his Office.

The report contains both positive and negative elements. Some participating States have been more responsive to the concerns of the Representative than others. Positive developments in Moldova and Tajikistan are to be welcomed. The situations in Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Belarus are less positive and we would encourage the Governments of these countries to take advantage of the expertise available through the Office of the Representative, in order to bring the situation of the media in their respective countries in line with OSCE commitments. With regard to Turkmenistan, the EU shares the concerns expressed by Mr. Haraszti over the recent arrests of Ogulsapar Muradova, reporter for Radio Free Europe, and Annakurban Amanklychev, a human right defender who worked for international media.

We have already expressed our regret at the new amendments to the Kazakh media law and would urge the Government of Kazakhstan to accept the Representative’s offer of legal assistance.

The EU shares the concern of the Representative at the dangers faced by journalists in the Russian Federation. In the wake of several killings this year, a strong commitment on the part of the authorities to protect journalists from murderous violence is needed.

We are also following the case of the Serbian BK Television Station closely.

The European Union looks forward to the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting, to be convened this afternoon, on freedom of the media. It will provide an opportunity for participating States to reflect on some of the difficult issues connected with free media and give us an opportunity to hear from practitioners and experts, both from within the OSCE and from Partner Countries. The themes of the three working sessions are all of interest and importance.

The EU supports the programme of work for the remainder of this year outlined by the Representative. We strongly support the continuation of the Central Asian and South Caucasus media Conferences, which a number of EU Member States will assist financially. The proposed activities on Internet publishing and the examination of Self Regulatory mechanisms also appear particularly worthwhile. We are pleased that the Representative is cooperating with other international actors on questions of media freedom, particularly the Council of Europe and the European Union itself.

Finally the European Union would like to thank Mr. Haraszti once again and to wish him and his staff continued success in their important work.

The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this statement.