By 
09-08-2024
Innocenti Chiara
Human Rights and Europe Researcher,
Global Human Rights Defence
BRUSSELS – The 2024 European Commission’s Report on the Rule of Law in Greece issued on July 24 failed to capture the severity of the crisis affecting press freedom and human rights of journalists in the country. According to information released by Human Rights Watch, on August 1, fourteen human rights and media freedom organisations criticised the Commission’s annual report as inadequate. They argued that it “misleads readers by glossing over” serious issues relating to press freedom and journalism that warrant meticulous attention and specialised approach to meet EU rule of law standards. The Commission’s account presents an overly optimistic view, likely placing undue reliance on self-reported data from the Greek government, while neglecting to consider the alarming statements from civil society organisations and reporters on the ground.
The report addresses the independence of media regulators, transparency in media ownership and administration, the right to access administrative documents, and the protection of investigative journalism, emphasising the positive steps taken by the Greek government in response to the 2023 Commission Rule of Law report. These steps include the decriminalisation of the offence of simple defamation and the new registry obligations for local media service providers. However, the reality in Greece is believed to be more dire than the Commission’s portrayal suggests, prompting stakeholders engaged in the fight for human rights protection to once again voice their concerns.
On February 6, following the 2023 Commission’s report, seventeen civil society organisations and press freedom groups expressed their alarm regarding the deterioration of the rule of law in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. This document, characterised by a critical tone towards the Commission’s “turning a blind eye” to the issue, condemned severe breaches of international human rights law by the Greek government, citing major scandals alongside lesser-known incidents. Government interference in media, abusive lawsuits against journalists and activists, and violence and intimidation within a free reporting environment are highlighted, alongside two unresolved murders of journalists and the frequent use of the criminal justice system to threaten civil society actors. A dedicated paragraph of the letter addressed the 2022 Greek Watergate scandal, illustrating the chilling effect that persistent state surveillance of journalists can have on media freedom and journalism’s role in democracies.
As of today, August 1, 2024, after the 2024 Commission’s annual report on the Rule of Law, the grievances raised by civil society against the EU Commission remain largely unchanged. Fourteen human rights and media freedom organisations have reiterated their disagreement with the overly subdued tone adopted by the Commission in the 2024 Rule of Law report, given the steady increase in human rights violations reported by civil society in the field. According to Reporters Without Borders’s World Press Freedom Index, Greece ranked last in the EU for the second consecutive year, with particular concerns arising regarding the treatment of migrants and a continual erosion of media freedom stemming from systemic impunity for those who compromise journalists’ safety. In light of the recent decision to acquit the suspects in the 2021 murder of journalist Giorgos Karaivaz, civil society organisations urged the incoming European Commission to “take a stronger stance on upholding its commitment to fundamental rights and democratic values in member states.”
Bibliography
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