In his 2016 annual report the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, points out democratic shortcomings in Europe which require immediate attention. In particular, he underlines the need to safeguard freedom of expression.
“Without genuine freedom of expression and without genuinely free and independent media, there can be no effective safeguards against incompetence and misuse or abuse of power”, writes T.Jagland
The chapter provides a detailed analysis of the situation in Europe along the following indicators, identifies the main trends in alml or parts of Europe and gives proposed actions and recommendations to follow with regard to freedom of expression online, mass surveillance, safety of journalists during protests, regulatory authorities, public service broadcasters and media concentration.
- safety of journalists and others performing public watchdog functions;
- protection from arbitrary application of the law;
- media independence;
- media pluralism and diversity;
- protection of freedom of expression on the Internet.
Some of the findings:
- Over the last year, media freedom in some member States has declined, with threats to put the media under state control.
- In many other member states, a new trend of introducing new laws and regulations to fight terrorism affects the enjoyment of freedom of expression and media freedom.
- Almost 50% member states fail to guarantee to journalists safety from violence and threats, an enabling legal environment for their work and access to information held by public authorities
- In the majority of member states, the legal framework on blocking, filtering and removal of Internet content meets the requirements of being prescribed by law, pursuing legitimate aims and being necessary in a democratic society in accordance with Article 10 of the Convention. Exceptions remain however, notably with regard to laws regulating hate speech and counter-terrorism.
Governments, parliaments and civil society are encouraged to examine carefully report’s detailed analysis in order to remedy the situation.
More findings and recommendations can be found in the full 2016 report of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe “State of democracy, human rights and rule of law in Europe”.
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