Media watchdog: press freedom in EU, Balkans deteriorating

Press freedom in many EU member states and in the majority of Balkan countries hoping to join the 27-nation bloc is deteriorating overall, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warned in its ninth annual World Press Freedom Index, released on Wednesday (October 20th)."It is disturbing to see several EU member countries continuing to fall in the index," the Paris-based media watchdog said. "If it does not pull itself together, the European Union risks losing its position as world leader in respect for human rights. And if that were to happen, how could it be convincing when it asked authoritarian regimes to make improvements?"

This year's survey reflects press freedom violations that took place during the 12-month period to September 1st 2010. Each of the 178 countries included in the index is given a ranking and a score, ranging from 0 (best) to 105.00 (worst).Bulgaria and Greece fared worst among the EU member states, dropping two and 35 slots, respectively, to join Benin, Comoros and Kenya in 70th place.
Greece's fall from its 2009 35th place ranking was due "to political unrest and physical attacks on several journalists", RSF explained.Other EU states that lost ground this year included Portugal (40th), France (44th), Cyprus (45th), Italy (49th) and Romania (52nd).Romania, which was ranked 50th among the 175 countries included in last year's index, "now considers the media a threat to national security and plans to legally censor its activities", the group said.

News source: SETimes link: article