European Federation of Journalists

European Parliament calls for respect for media freedom in Poland


In the European Parliament plenary sitting in Strasbourg, 15 November 2017, the European Parliament called on Poland to respect the rule of law concerning media freedom, independence of the judiciary, freedom of assembly, sexual and reproductive rights, and asylum-seekers’ access.

The Socialists & Democrats (S&D) group president, Gianni Pitella, called on Poland to improve its situation of media freedoms and criticised the government’s interference on media organisation.

State limitations of media freedom in Poland have been recognised by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). Last December, mass demonstrations took place in Warsaw against government plans to restrict journalists’ access to parliament. In July this year, the EFJ condemned the death threats received by journalist Dorota Bawolek, reporting for Polish private TV channel Polsat TV. The threats were sent after Polsat TV classified Bawolek’s remarks as “harmful to Poland”, after Bawolek had commented that the European Commission was ignoring issues in Poland.

Photo credit: AP

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