Changes from resolution motion to adopted text

RemovedB90099/2024

AddedP9_TA(2024)0069

ChangedEuropean Parliament resolution on the ruleRule of lawLaw and media freedom in Greece

Removed(2024/2502(RSP))

AddedPE756.840

AddedEuropean Parliament resolution of 7 February 2024 on the rule of law and media freedom in Greece (2024/2502(RSP))

The European Parliament,

Changed– having regard to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), in particular Articles 2, 3, 4, 64(3) and 77(1) thereof,

Changed– having regard to the TreatyCharter onof theFundamental FunctioningRights of the European Union, in particular the articles thereof relating to respect for, and the protection and promotion of, democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights inUnion the(‘the Union,Charter’),

Changed– having regard to the CharterEuropean ofConvention Fundamentalon Human Rights ofand the Europeanprotocols Union,thereto,

Removed– having regard to the Greek Constitution of 9 June 1975,

Removed– having regard to the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights,

Removed– having regard to the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union,

Removed– having regard to the updated report of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights of 24 May 2023 entitled ‘Surveillance by intelligence services: Fundamental rights safeguards and remedies in the EU – 2023 update’,

– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Removed– having regard to its recommendation of 15 June 2023 to the Council and the Commission following the investigation of alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware,

Added– having regard to the international human rights treaties of the United Nations and the Council of Europe,

Changed– having regard to the Commission communication of 5 July 2023 entitled ‘2023 Rule of Law ReportRegulation –(EU, TheEuratom) rule2020/2092 of law situation in the European Union’ (COM(2023)0800),Parliament and toof the accompanying staff working documentCouncil of 516 JulyDecember 20232020 entitledon ‘2023a Rulegeneral ofregime Lawof Reportconditionality –for Countrythe Chapterprotection onof the ruleUnion ofbudget law(the situationRule inof Greece’Law (SWD(2023)0808),Conditionality Regulation),

Added– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (Common Provisions Regulation),

Added– having regard to its report following the mission of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs to Athens, Greece, from 6 to 8 March 2023 at the initiative of its Monitoring Group on Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights (DRFMG),

Added– having regard to the country chapters on Greece in the Commission’s annual rule of law reports, in particular those of 2021, 2022 and 2023,

Added– having regard to the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights concerning Greece,

Added– having regard to the report of the investigation of alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware and its recommendation of 15 June 2023 to the Council and the Commission following the investigation of alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware,

Added– having regard to the Commission proposal of 16 September 2022 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common framework for media services in the internal market (European Media Freedom Act) and amending Directive 2010/13/EU (COM(2022)0457),

Added– having regard to the proposal of 27 April 2022 for a directive on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded or abusive court proceedings (‘Strategic lawsuits against public participation’) (COM(2022)0177),

Added– having regard to Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Directive),

– having regard to Rule 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

Change 1

ChangedA. whereas Greecethe Union is afounded stableon constitutionalthe democracyvalues withof arespect modernfor andhuman robustdignity, welfarefreedom, systemdemocracy, thatequality, isthe fullyrule committedof tolaw and respect for human rights, including the rights andof valuespersons enshrinedbelonging to minorities, as set out in Article 2 TEUTEU, and as reflected in the Charter ofand Fundamentalembedded Rights;in international human rights treaties;

Change 2

RemovedB. whereas press freedom and freedom of expression in Greece are fully guaranteed in Article 14 of the Greek Constitution and the protection of journalists is further ensured by the Code of Ethics governing the journalistic profession, both of which highlight the country’s dedication to upholding democratic principles; whereas this is reflected in a pluralistic media landscape in Greece;

AddedB. whereas a Member State’s compliance with the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU is a condition for the enjoyment of all the rights derived from the application of the Treaties to that Member State, including the right to EU funding; whereas according to Article 7 TEU, the Union can assess the existence of a clear risk of a serious breach of the values referred to in Article 2;

RemovedC. whereas Greece has made progress on four out of five recommendations included in the Commission’s 2022 Rule of Law Report, and continues to strengthen the rule of law and media freedom through the digitalisation of justice, anti-corruption reforms, measures strengthening the transparency of media ownership and allocation of state advertising, the strengthening of the media regulating authority as well as improving the working environment for journalists;

AddedC. whereas, in recent years, the rule of law and media freedom have been deteriorating in Greece; whereas this situation has not been sufficiently addressed, many concerns remain and many issues continue to arise;

RemovedD. whereas measures have been put in place to address threats and attacks against journalists, including the creation of a task force for the protection and empowerment of journalists;

AddedD. whereas, in 2022, Greece adopted legislation aiming to enhance the transparency of media ownership, and set up a registry for print media, as well as a registry for electronic press, making registered companies exclusively eligible for state advertising;

RemovedE. whereas the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe welcomed the inter-ministerial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of 23 May 2022 on the protection, safety and empowerment of journalists and other media professionals and the creation of a task force as measures benefiting media freedom and the safety of journalists;

AddedE. whereas the AVMS Directive establishes that Member States must ensure that national regulatory authorities or bodies exercise their powers impartially and transparently and in accordance with the objectives of the directive, in particular media pluralism, cultural and linguistic diversity, consumer protection, accessibility, non-discrimination, the proper functioning of the internal market and the promotion of fair competition; whereas it further states that Member States must ensure that national regulatory authorities or bodies have adequate financial and human resources and enforcement powers to carry out their functions effectively;

RemovedF. whereas Greece has undertaken a series of initiatives to implement Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/1534 on ensuring the protection, safety and empowerment of journalists and other media professionals in the EU, as well as Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)4 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the protection of journalism and safety of journalists and other media actors;

AddedF. whereas the agreement between co-legislators in the European Media Freedom Act is expected to enhance transparency requirements regarding direct and indirect media ownership, the allocation of state funding to media outlets in the form of state advertising, as well as the appointment and dismissal of the management boards of public service media; whereas the Media Freedom Act is expected to establish strong safeguards against undue surveillance of journalists and the editorial teams of media outlets;

RemovedG. whereas Greece has introduced extensive changes to the Greek Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, in line with the recommendations from the Group of States against Corruption, to harmonise them with modern conditions for particularly serious crimes and to deal with the distortions created by the 2019 Penal Code;

AddedG. whereas the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform had identified two cases of impunity for murder, nine active alerts and two other alerts without reply by the end of 2023;

Removed1. Notes that constitutional and legislative safeguards on media freedom and pluralism in Greece have been further strengthened in recent months through a series of legislative reforms and administrative measures;

AddedH. whereas Greece has the lowest ranking of any EU country – 107th place – in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders;

Removed2. Welcomes the progress that Greece has made on the recommendations from the 2022 Rule of Law Report; welcomes its significant progress with respect to asset disclosures by public officials; underlines its progress on prosecutions and final judgments in corruption cases; highlights the introduction of additional safeguards to improve the working conditions and physical safety of journalists; notes some progress on ensuring that registration requirements for civil society organisations are proportionate, in view of maintaining an open framework for them to operate;

AddedI. whereas media freedom, pluralism and the independence and safety of journalists are crucial components of the right to freedom of expression and information, and are essential to the democratic functioning of the EU and its Member States and to safeguarding the rule of law, including the fight against corruption;

Removed3. Welcomes the successful transposition of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which strengthens, among other things, transparency of media ownership and ensures the independence of media regulators; acknowledges further that Law 4779/2021 strengthened the independence of the National Council for Radio and Television from the government and other state bodies, and improved the transparency of media ownership; welcomes the new safeguards against market concentration included in Laws 5005/2022 and 4915/2022, which further strengthen the transparency of media ownership and state advertising and should contribute to reducing the risks identified in the indices tracking media freedom, such as the 2023 Media Pluralism Monitor;

AddedJ. whereas the Commission has concluded that Greece meets the milestones for EU funding, since an anti-corruption strategy has been adopted by its National Transparency Authority (NTA); whereas the NTA does not have a track record for exercising effective and independent oversight; whereas the Commission’s conclusion seems to be based merely on the adoption of a strategy on paper, not on effective measures in practice;

Removed4. Welcomes Greece’s declaration of commitment to fully implement the European media freedom act and the directive on strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs);

AddedK. whereas according to the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, Greece has shown a worrying decline in issues concerning the rule of law among the 27 EU Member States; whereas this is a negative development also reflected in the country’s increased corruption perception index score;

Removed5. Welcomes the adoption of an inter-ministerial MoU on the protection, safety and empowerment of journalists and other media professionals; notes that this MoU sets out a common framework for the protection and safety of journalists, including legislative and non-legislative initiatives, as well as an institutional framework to plan, monitor and evaluate the national implementation of EU recommendations and resolutions, with a view to identifying the needs of journalists and empowering and training them, while raising awareness among journalists regarding equality in the media, personal protection and digital literacy;

AddedL. whereas in the so-called Petsas List scandal, EUR 20 million of state funds was distributed among media outlets for public health communication campaigns, including non-existent websites and personal blogs; whereas certain media outlets were excluded altogether without any justification and with non-transparent criteria;

Removed6. Highlights the creation of a task force under the MoU, with the aim of strengthening the safety and independence of journalists and other media professionals; welcomes the task force’s awareness raising activities and its monitoring of the safety of journalists, initiated in line with Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/1534;

AddedM. whereas a preliminary investigation by the Greek General Directorate of Financial and Economic Crime Unit has found that at least 270 funded media outlets were not properly and lawfully registered and that the loss to public funds exceeds EUR 3 million;

Removed7. Welcomes the establishment in January 2023 of the International Training Centre for the Safety of Journalists and Media Professionals and its varied activities;

AddedN. whereas the nephew and former Secretary-General of the Prime Minister’s Office initiated several lawsuits in 2022 against the newspaper EFSYN, the online investigative platform Reporters United and individual journalists, seeking the removal of an article implicating him in a national spyware scandal involving the company Intellexa, as well as compensation of EUR 550 000; whereas the article, among other things, caused a public outcry, which ultimately led to his resignation from the role of Secretary-General of the Prime Minister’s Office; whereas further details concerning his role in the spyware scandal have since emerged; whereas numerous international freedom of expression and media freedom organisations have condemned the lawsuit as a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) aimed at suppressing critical reporting;

Removed8. Acknowledges the new steps that Greece has taken to safeguard the independence of public service media, in particular through the adoption of Law 5062/2023 (A 183), which sets out conditions and procedures for the appointment of directors and other senior management of public administration bodies;

AddedO. whereas the recently published 2022 Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE) annual report revealed that thousands of cases of prosecution orders to gain access to communications on national security grounds had not been reported to the ADAE in time by the Greek National Intelligence Service (EYP) and the Special Violent Crime (Counter Terrorism) Division of the Police;

Removed9. Underlines that the Panhellenic Federation of Journalists’ Unions established a SLAPPs observatory to monitor and prevent SLAPPs, as well as to provide support to journalists targeted by them, as part of activities undertaken by the task force;

AddedP. whereas an exorbitant fine of EUR 435 000 was imposed on the weekly newspaper Documento News by the tax authorities in December 2023; whereas the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom condemned this measure and expressed its dismay on 7 December 2023;

Removed10. Considers that Greece’s recent efforts, encompassing both legislative and non-legislative measures, have improved the country’s performance in ensuring the safety of journalists; expects Greece’s efforts to continue in this direction;

AddedQ. whereas Panayote Dimitras, a human rights activist and founder and head of the Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM), is being prosecuted for illegal trafficking even though it appears that he was acting lawfully to provide humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers; whereas in December 2022, he was handed down a fine and prohibited from being involved with the GHM; whereas the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights voiced concerns about the case; whereas the Anti-Money Laundering Authority ordered the freezing of all of Dimitras’s assets in May 2023; whereas Dimitras stated on 31 May 2023 that he had only received EU funding designated for combating hate speech and that the funds were only used for that purpose; whereas the recent acquittal of 16 aid workers and volunteers demonstrates that criminal charges against those providing humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers have no legal basis;