Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accused some Italian journalists of “provoking” the EU’s hardline stance on press freedom restrictions in the country, Alessandra Costante, general secretary of the Italian National Press Federation (FNSI), stated, according to Euractiv.
The press campaign orchestrated against some journalists accused of provoking’ the EU’s tough stance on the restriction of press freedom in Italy is scandalous.
Costante commented on a letter sent by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to the EU Commission challenging the criticism of press freedom in the rule of law report published on 24 July. Some newspapers considered close to the government have released the names of journalists who contributed to the EU-funded Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) report.
According to Costante, such a campaign “in addition to being scandalous, underlines, as if it were needed, how journalists who are not aligned with the government’s policy are pointed out to the public as enemies: a clear intimidation action and contrary to press freedom.”
In her letter to the Commission, Meloni described the journalists who contributed to the report as “professionals of disinformation and mystification.” In addition to the letter, she also made several statements on the issue at a press conference on the sidelines of her visit to China.
She said the letter she sent was not “a moment of friction with the European Commission” but “a common reflection on the instrumentalisation that has been made of a technical document in which I am obliged to remind you that the critical accents are not those of the European Commission.”
Meloni also emphasised that the criticism in the report did not come directly from the Commission but from “stakeholders” and quoted some of the newspapers she considered most critical, such as Il Domani, il Fatto Quotidiano, or Repubblica.
Media at risk
The report made special reference to the independence of the state media, emphasising the crucial role played by RAI, the main public broadcaster, in media space. The Commission, for its part, recalled that “stakeholders stressed the need for a comprehensive reform to ensure that RAI is better protected from the risks of political interference.”
Other concerns raised by stakeholders mentioned by the Commission concerned par condicio and the government’s “decision, adopted with the Budget Law for 2024, to reduce RAI’s licence fee and to compensate for this reduction with additional direct funding of €430 million.”
The press freedom situation in Italy was also criticised in the MFRR report. It states that “since the far-right coalition led by Giorgia Meloni took office in October 2022, press freedom has been under increasing pressure, with unprecedented attacks and violations often initiated by politicians in an attempt to marginalise and silence critical voices.”
Exacerbating the picture is the fact that there were 193 incidents against journalists between October 2022 and June 2024, compared to 75 in the previous 22 months. Of these, 54 were directed by politicians.
Recently, Meloni also faced criticism over Italy’s differentiated autonomy bill. Italy’s former PM and head of the 5-Star Movement (M5S), Giuseppe Conte, harshly criticised her government’s budgetary decisions. He accused the incumbent PM of failing to properly assess the country’s financial situation.
It is a fact that, faced with this incredible avalanche of profits, which enriches bank shareholders while families and businesses are in difficulty in paying mortgage instalments, the Meloni Government whistles indifferently.
Amid criticism of the budget allocation, the government’s decision to give RAI additional direct funding of €430 million raises questions among Italian taxpayers.
