[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”100187″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”98320″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship welcomes the new proposal from the European Commission, which would make it possible to withhold EU funding from a member state that does not have a credible and functioning legal system.

“The proposal aims to ensure that member states live up to EU standards. To achieve that it must also require that states safeguard media freedom”, said Joy Hyvarinen, head of advocacy at Index. “A free media is essential for holding state authorities, including their legal system, accountable.”

Index is extremely concerned about the state of media freedom in the EU, including the unsolved murders of two investigative journalists (Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta and Jan Kuciak in Slovakia) and 223 media freedom violations reported to Mapping Media Freedom, Index’s press freedom monitoring platform, in the last seven months .[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]