00:00The European press is suffocating.
00:07While the continent remains the leading region in the World Press Freedom Index, published
00:11on Friday by Reporters Without Borders, the situation is deteriorating.
00:16Economic difficulties are threatening editorial offices, especially independent ones.
00:21The media are facing both the end of American aid and the strengthening of Russian propaganda.
00:27Norway, Estonia and the Netherlands dominate this ranking.
00:31Conversely, Greece, Serbia and Kosovo are the continent's lowest ranked countries.
00:36Within the European Union, Athens comes last.
00:39In Greece, press freedom is really suffocated by impunity of crimes committed against journalists.
00:46Here I'm talking about the assassination of journalist Georges Karavas in 2021.
00:52There has been one trial so far, and the accused have been acquitted.
00:59There was also the biggest surveillance of journalists in the EU.
01:03In Greece, more than ten media professionals were targeted with the spyware Predator,
01:11which gave the name to the now famous affair Predator Gate.
01:15Hungary, singled out for its attacks on the rule of law, ranks higher than Greece.
01:20But it owes this to the fact that no journalist has been killed, explains Reporters Without Borders.
01:25The organization points out that the Hungarian prime minister uses other means to control information.
01:30Some 80% of editorial offices are controlled by people close to Viktor Orban.
01:35While Europe remains the safest zone for the media,
01:38Reporters Without Borders stresses that the union must remain vigilant.
01:41Press freedom has further deteriorated in Europe.
01:45What we observe at the same time is that Europe and the rest of the world are very different,
01:55and Europe remains the safest continent for journalists, despite all the problems.
02:03And one of the reasons that this gap between Europe and the other continents is wider is because of the legal indicator of press freedom.
02:16And the precise reason is the adoption last year of the European Media Freedom Act by the European Union, which is historical legislation.
02:24The European Media Freedom Act aims to strengthen editorial independence, protect sources, ensure greater transparency of media ownership,
02:32and protect journalists from all forms of espionage.
02:35However, not all member states apply the legislation in the same way.
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