About: freedom of expression Archives

A landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJK) that EU companies can ban employees from wearing religious symbols, such as the Muslim headscarf, panders to prejudice, Amnesty International warned today.

The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RWB) has called on the European Commission to defend press freedom in Poland, after the country fell 29 places in the RWB’s global ranking. EURACTIV’s partner Ouest-France reports.

Energy can be a dirty business. But when you import more than half your supplies every year, sometimes you just have to get a deal done.

The number of journalists detained worldwide rose in 2016, an increase related to Turkey where more than 100 journalists and media contributors are in jail, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said yesterday (12 December).

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz is set to continue his pursuit of a freeze in the EU's accession process with Turkey. He is also eager to act as a bridge between the West and Moscow. EURACTIV Germany reports.

The EU has in recent years used trade agreements as a venue for promoting human rights, notably freedom of speech. Yet, as trade negotiators seek to wrap up the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), the EU seems to have abandoned this objective, write Jodie Ginsberg and Christian Borggreen.

The Association of European Journalists (AEJ) has called on the European institutions to exert more pressure on Turkey, in face of further restrictions on freedom of expression and the press. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Even before the attempted coup, Turkey was no longer a democracy, according to political scientist Dr Roy Karadag. He told EURACTIV's partner WirtschaftsWoche what Erdoğan has planned for Turkey next and why the EU refugee deal hangs in the balance.

The granting of visa liberalisation, and to a lesser extent the German parliament’s expected recognition of the Armenian genocide, could threaten to derail the EU’s refugee pact with Turkey. EURACTIV’s partner Der Tagesspiegel spoke with the Turkish Minister of Youth and Sport, Çağatay Kılıç.

The authorities of the Swiss city of Geneva have refused to remove a photograph from an exhibition in the city, which blames the death of a Turkish teenager on Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Freedom of expression and media pluralism are principles enshrined in the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. Member states are bound to guarantee them, as they represent the essence of liberal democracies. But Pier Luigi Parcu asks whether this is true in practice.

Attacks, conflict and repressive security laws are putting journalists under increasing pressure, even in Europe, according to Reporters Without Borders. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Two thirds of Germans oppose Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to allow prosecutors to
pursue a case against a German comedian who mocked Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a poll published on Sunday (17 April) showed.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday (14 April) that Germany has accepted a request from Turkey to seek prosecution of a German comedian who read out a sexually crude poem about Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan on German television.

German Justice Minister Heiko Maas spoke with EURACTIV’s partner Tagesspiegel about dealing with the Turkish government, satire and freedom of expression, as well as the position of the Social Democrats as the party falls in the polls.

The Council of Europe has published a series of guidelines on preventing and combatting hate speech. EURACTIV Italy reports.

The EU has proven itself to be flexible and effective when it comes to imposing sanctions. When it comes to the Thai military junta, the time is nigh for us to put this experience into practice, argues Willy Fautré.

Charged with libel for comments about Qatar, the MEP and vice president of the French National Front has had his parliamentary immunity confirmed by a vote this afternoon (Tuesday 2 February). EURACTIV France reports.

Myanmar's government, made up of ex-generals of the former military junta, is employing tactics associated with the erstwhile dictatorship to intimidate journalists before next weekend's historic general elections, Amnesty International has said.

Free Raif Badawi and all prisoners of conscience, because such a precedent would create more opportunities for human rights reforms in Saudi Arabia, writes Alyn Smith.

Thailand's military government remain in power after rejecting a new constitution. However, a planned trade agreement could persuade it to make more serious inroads against exploitation, illegal fishing and slavery. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Raif Badawi is the Saudi Arabian blogger imprisoned for ten years and sentenced to 1,000 lashes, after being arrested on charges of insulting Islam on a website.

Raif Badawi could be sentenced to death for apostasy, says his wife Ensaf Haidar, who told EURACTIV she feared that her blogger husband could be publically flogged at any time.

Prominent Swiss business leaders and politicians urged the country on Sunday to reject a referendum next month that aims to impose strict limits on immigration, warning that the measure would damage the economy.