S2 Episode 5: Without media freedom, there is no democracy

The EU may still enjoy the status of the safest place for journalists in the world, but this may easily change as the current worrying trend of intimidating, harassing and even killing reporters seems to be on the rise. Our guest is investigative journalist Matthew Caruana Galizia, whose mother Daphne Caruana Galizia was brutally murdered in 2017 trying to expose corruption in Malta. Julie Majerczak, head of the Brussels office of Reporters without Borders, told us the murders of journalists – with 16 killed in the EU since 2015 -- were just a tip of the iceberg, as they are increasingly the victims of different forms of pressure, abuse and censorship. We asked the EESC member Christian Moos why defending media freedoms was of such importance for the EU.

Is there something the EU should do and should budgetary sanctions be applied to governments who stifle critical voices and press liberties? Our guests tell it all in our latest episode "Without media freedom, there is no democracy".