While two former Communist States are now among the top 10 – Estonia (4th) and Lithuania (9th) –, the Netherlands (28th) no longer is, with Greece (108th) having replaced Bulgaria (91st) as the worst-performing EU nation, even surpassing any candidate country from the Western Balkans – where the worst-ranked is Albania (103rd).
These developments and differences reflect three main trends. First, the return of murdered journalists in the EU. In the centre of two European capitals, Giorgios Karaivaz, in Greece, and Peter R. De Vries, in the Netherlands, were gunned down. Those responsible for the murders carried out before 2020, of Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta and Jan Kuciak in Slovakia, have still not been convicted.
Furthermore, journalists have faced active hostility from protesters against public health measures aimed at tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. In several European countries, such as Germany, Italy, or France, journalists faced insults and threats and were physically attacked.
Finally, the intensification of repressive laws against journalists by some EU and neighbouring governments, namely, in Greece, Hungary, Poland, Albania, and Slovenia. Whereas Serbia scored points in the fight against impunity, and following changes in government, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have loosed their control on the press.
European institutions have started to address issues and implement protective measures for journalists and press freedom, such as launching proceedings against Hungary for violating EU’s rule of law, or even calling for governments to take measures to protect journalists, in the context of the recent killings in the invasion of Ukraine. These efforts are a step forward in ensuring that the freedom of media and press is protected.