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Brussels has raised the alarm over press freedom in Italy after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government was accused of interfering with public broadcaster Rai and silencing critical voices.
Věra Jourová, the European Commission vice-president overseeing values and transparency, warned of a funding squeeze and alleged “intimidation” of journalists after unveiling an annual report on the state of rule of law across the union.
“We have been expressing the need for safeguards for years. But with new incidents reported by stakeholders and budget cuts, this is becoming very urgent,” Jourová said on Wednesday.
Brussels specifically highlighted issues over the independence of Italy’s public broadcaster Rai and increasing lawsuits against journalists and said it raised the matter directly with Rome.
Meloni’s government has been locked in a confrontation with journalists at the broadcaster, whose union staged a walkout in May over complaints of editorial interference and worsening working conditions.
The union has accused the broadcaster’s governing board, which is dominated by government appointees, of seeking to transform the broadcaster into the ruling party’s mouthpiece. Critics have started describing Rai as “TeleMeloni”.
“We express concerns related to the independence and funding of public service media, and we ask authorities to address the situation,” Jourová said about the situation in Italy. “What we ask is to ensure that the rules or mechanisms are in place to provide funding and independence for such kind of media.”
Meloni has previously rejected claims that she is attempting to control the state broadcaster, arguing that it had long been dominated by the Italian left.
“The left has occupied a company like Rai by force,” the premier said in a radio appearance in May. “We are for a more plural system — a system that represents everyone and belongs to the citizens.”
Public discontent in Italy erupted earlier this year after a scheduled television appearance by high-profile writer Antonio Scurati was abruptly cancelled. He is the author of bestselling historical novels about fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
In its report, the commission highlights “an editorial shift which led to the resignation of several journalists and presenters” following the appointment of Rai’s chief executive Roberto Sergio in 2023, and “other top-level figures”. It also mentions the reduction of Rai’s licence fee in the 2024 government budget.
The commission warned that journalists in Italy were also at increased risk of strategic lawsuits to undermine their work — so-called SLAPPs — and face restricted access to judicial documents as a source of information.
“Stakeholders signalled an increase in the number of cases of legal intimidations, including from political figures,” Jourová said. She added that there was “no progress on the reform of the defamation regime” to introduce guardrails against abuse.
Jourová said she “strongly recommended” the introduction of “more safeguards against the abuse of a legal system against journalists and human rights defenders”.
Additional reporting by Daria Mosolova