Europe best region in world for press freedom but situation worsening, says RSF

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Europe best region in world for press freedom but situation worsening, says RSF  Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published its annual report on global press freedom on Friday. Europe remains the safest region for journalists, but the situation is deteriorating.   READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/02/europe-best-region-in-world-for-press-freedom-but-situation-worsening-says-rsf  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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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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