EU Commission bans Euractiv over ‘critical journalism’ – editor-in-chief
The European Commission has barred the Brussels-based outlet Euractiv from its background briefings over critical reporting on the “EU bubble,” according to editor-in-chief Matthew Karnitschnig.
Practically every media outlet with a sizeable EU bureau depends on the largesse of powerbrokers, bloc mandarins, foreign governments, and lobbyists for information, in what is known as the 'access journalism' business.
However independent journalism in Brussels is now “on the enemies list,” Karnitschnig wrote on Friday. “In fact, it has become an endangered species,” he wrote.
“At the beginning of this year, we set about infusing the ‘EU bubble’ with a heavy dose of critical journalism,” Karnitschnig said. “Not all recipients reacted well, least of all the Commission, which recently banned us from its background briefings – the off-the-record sessions during which President Ursula von der Leyen’s advisers seek to steer the message they’re trying to send on any given issue to the press.”
The editor cited coverage he believes contributed to EU’s ban of his outlet.
“Maybe it was our debunking of the legend pushed by the Commission that von der Leyen’s pilots were forced to resort to “paper maps” to land her plane in Bulgaria amid a purported Russian attack... Or was it that we lambasted her absurd plan for a European intelligence service?”
Founded in 1999 by French media publisher Christophe Leclercq, the reputable Brussels-based outlet focuses on EU policy and says it aims to “unpack the complexities of EU politics, policies, and legislation.”
Brussels has long faced criticism over restrictions on free speech and the marginalization of independent voices, including from US Vice President J.D. Vance, who has warned that free expression across Europe is “in retreat.”
During his speech at the Munich Security Conference in February, Vance accused EU governments of “running in fear” from their own people, arguing that the main threat to democracy does not come from Russia and China, but from abandoning fundamental democratic values.
