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In the last six months, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has ignored all attempts by Reporters Without Borders to establish contact. The international organization, which ranks Bulgaria 111th in the world in terms of press freedom, has presented Borissov with its plan on how to make the country’s media more free. Since then, the “reporters” have been unable to establish contact with the Bulgarian prime minister.
“Bulgaria is a collective image of press freedom problems in the EU and the Balkans,” said Pavel Salai, Reporters Without Borders coordinator for the EU and the Balkans. He spoke at an international conference on freedom of the press in Bulgaria, organized by EURACTIV and the Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.
Pavel Salay recalled that in 2019 Bulgaria signed the Association for Information and Democracy, which should guarantee freedom of expression worldwide. However, freedom of the press in Bulgaria continues to deteriorate and the Bulgarian government is unwilling to improve the situation, Salai said.
In December last year, Reporters Without Borders Secretary General Christophe Deloir met with Boyko Borissov after three years of trying to hold a similar meeting. He called on Borisov to play a “historical role” and show “real will to improve the situation of the media” in the country. Already at this meeting, the organization raised the issue with the newly elected Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev, whose statements to the media are alarming, as well as that harassment of the media through legal mechanisms may escalate.
Reporters Without Borders has called for a roadmap to address the serious problem of the media environment and the protection of journalists. In response, Borissov invited the organization to draft such a roadmap.
In March this year, Reporters Without Borders sent Borissov a roadmap for media policy in Bulgaria. His proposal is to create a national and independent commission to improve media freedom, made up of recognized independent authorities. It should address the improvement of media legislation, as well as the distribution of state subsidies to the media, if any.
Borissov has so far ignored attempts by Reporters Without Borders to contact him for feedback on his “roadmap,” said Pavel Salay, Reporters Without Borders coordinator for the EU and the Balkans.
He recalled that in 2019 Bulgaria signed the Association for Information and Democracy, which must guarantee freedom of expression worldwide. However, freedom of the press in Bulgaria continues to deteriorate and the Bulgarian government does not have the will to improve the situation, Salai said.
The EC is drafting an action plan
At the end of the year, the European Commission (EC) will present action plans to protect independent journalism, said EC Vice President Vera Yourova, who will also attend the conference.
He explained that the next EU budget would include 61 million euros in support of independent media and journalists. The EC will focus its efforts on guaranteeing pluralism in the digital media market in the EU, as well as developing mechanisms to protect journalists from the so-called SLAPP case. These are lawsuits filed to silence critics and impose censorship.
“The EC cannot win the war just to protect the independent media, but we will use all the tools at our disposal,” Yourova said.
At the end of September, several pilot projects to provide legal and practical assistance to investigative journalists will be launched at the European Center for Media Freedom.
The latest EC report on the rule of law in Bulgaria identified all serious problems with the media in Bulgaria, including: lack of transparency of media ownership, distribution of European money for media advertising, strong influence politics and attacks on journalists.
“We are funding a number of projects for threatened journalists, including the creation of shelters for journalists,” Yourova said.
Elena Yoncheva (BSP) MEP announced that she will actively work to create mechanisms at European level to support independent media. “We have to act now, while there are still some free territories left,” Yoncheva said.
“If Bulgaria continues to fall at the same rate, in ten years it can really rank North Korea, from which we are separated by only 69 places in the rankings. This is less than we have collapsed in the last 10 years,” Yoncheva said. .
He spoke in support of investigative journalism and special funding from the European budget in support of independent journalism.
“This funding should be distributed by international organizations, which will be a guarantor of the fair use of the funds,” Yoncheva said, adding that Bulgaria’s return to the European path depends a lot on the state of the media.
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