In 2023, 281 attacks against female journalists and media workers were recorded in EU member and candidate countries. According to Mapping Media Freedom Initiative.
The Liberties report also criticized limited access to public interest information in EU countries, including Germany, Hungary, Lithuania and the Netherlands.
“Some governments continue to deny journalists access to documents or events,” it reads. “In Hungary, inquiries from journalists to the press and to public officials remain unanswered. “Formal freedom of information requests also go unanswered, or are fulfilled only years later.”
In March, the European Media Freedom Act – an EU-level effort to protect media freedom, media pluralism and editorial independence in the bloc – Received its final signature from the EU institutions,
However, Liberties was critical of its efficacy. “EMFA fails to tackle many urgent issues within the European media landscape and addresses only a limited number of threats to media freedom and pluralism,” the report said.