EU Publishes Plan to Regulate Press

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EU Publishes Plan to Regulate Press

The European Union wants to be able to regulate the press and even fire errant journalists, according to a report by the High Level Group on Media Freedom and Pluralism, published January 22. The report is designed to be a guideline to be used in drafting new regulations.

The report says that all nations should set up “independent media councils.” The report states: “Media councils should have real enforcement powers, such as the imposition of fines, orders for printed or broadcast apologies, or removal of journalistic status.” These councils “should follow a set of European-wide standards and be monitored by the Commission to ensure that they comply with European values.”

The High Level Group was set up by European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes last year.

There’s no doubt that the press needs improving. But that regulation must come from a moral public discerning what they choose to buy and read. The idea of the EU regulating what can and can’t be said is scary. As Conservative MP Douglas Carswell said: “This is the sort of mindset that I would expect to find in Iran, not the West. This kooky idea tells us little about the future of press regulation. It does suggest that the European project is ultimately incompatible with the notion of a free society.”

Freedom of speech is not a European value. Authorities are constantly trying to pump their propaganda into schools. Now they want to pump it into the papers too.

Future unrest sparked by mass unemployment in Europe will give EU officials further temptation to regulate what newspapers say.

Europe is on its way to becoming an undemocratic superstate. Restricting the press is an important part of this trend. For more information on this, see our article “Democracy and the Palace of Europe.”