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Arhiva priopćenjaEuropski parlament o zaštiti novinarskih izvora02.10.2006.
European Parliament initiative on protecting sources -- Strasbourg public hearing 27.9.2006 By Nicholas Jones A campaign has been launched within the European Parliament to establish a European-wide legal frame work for the protection of journalists’ sources of information. MEPs in the Intergroup for Press Freedom held a public hearing in Strasbourg (27.9.2006) to voice their concerns about the way several member states have been using the war of terror as an excuse to force journalists to reveal their sources. Evidence had emerged during the previous six months of suspect journalists having been planted in newsrooms in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands to act as spies for the state. “Their task has been to monitor and identify informants”, said Aidan White, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists in his presentation to the hearing. White feared that the Data Protection Bill, which had been approved by the European Parliament and takes effect next year, might open the door to more official snooping as each state would be required to keep a record for six months of telephone numbers of calls to and from journalists. Jean-Marie Cavada, the French MEP who chairs the intergroup supported by Socialists, Greens and Liberal Democrats, said he hoped initiatives taken in Belgium and Germany to protect informants might help form a basis for a legal frame work which could apply across the European Union. Under a Belgian law introduced 18 months ago the protection of whistleblowers had been strengthened to ensure that anyone “collecting, gathering or distributing information through the news media” could not be forced to reveal their sources. Martine Simonis, general secretary of the Belgian professional journalists association, said the protection of sources was in the public interest and it was important this safeguard applied to people who “disseminated information on a voluntary or irregular basis” as well as professional journalists. Germany’s long standing law on protecting the identity of journalists’ informants was strengthened in 2002 by legislation to prevent the confiscation of a reporters’ notes, photographs and research material. However, the courts have the power to order seizure in terrorist cases and Benno Poppelmann of the German journalists association urged further action to ensure the complete protection of sources and informants. As a first step the fifty MEPs in the group hope to gain support for a resolution demanding the confidentiality of journalists’ sources. If approved by the Parliament, it would have to be considered by the council of ministers and would strengthen moves to promote a European-wide code of practice safeguarding whistleblowers and protecting the identity of informants. END Renate Schroeder, Director, European Federation of Journalists International Press Centre Residence Palace, Block C rue de la Loi, 155 1040 Brussels TEL 0032.2.235.22 02 http://www.ifj-europe.org/ E-mail: Renate.Schroeder@ifj.org
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