World Press Freedom Day 2023: Info Note to EU Member States and EU Delegations

World Press Freedom Day 2023, on 3rd May, marks the 30th year of this UN International Day. This year’s theme as defined by UNESCO is “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights” . This anniversary coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Vienna Conference and its Declaration and Programme of Action on Human Rights, which established important institutions safeguarding human rights, and with the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On this occasion, the global community will take the pulse of the human rights agenda in a changing global context as well as focus on freedom of expression as a centerpiece of this agenda.  World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) 2023 is thus an occasion to organise events that highlight the interlinkages between press freedom, freedom of expression and other rights.     

The EU is a leading force in policy making and one of the world’s biggest donors in this field. The WPFD provides an opportunity for European Union Delegations (EUD) and Member States (MS) Embassies to convey key messages around the critical importance of press freedom and access to information. 

To assist the EU Delegations around the world and EU Member States to implement actions and convey key messages on the WPFD, and beyond, the European External Action Services (EEAS) and DG INTPA developed an Information Note with the support of the Team Europe Democracy (TED) Initiative experts. The document aims to offer guidance on possible actions related to Media Freedom and Pluralism to foster dialogue and possibly reform in the partner countries of the European Union. 

The document starts with a digest of relevant EU standards and initiatives that guide its internal and external actions in support of media pluralism, freedom of expression and digitalisation, such as the European Democracy Action Plan, the Media and Audio-visual Action Plan, the Digital Markets and Digital Services Act, the Anti-Slapp Initiative, and the Media Freedom Act. Further EU initiatives are the EU Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline, and the Protecting the Safety of Journalists, Protecting Freedom of Expression Handbook. The EU Action Plan on Democracy and Human Rights 2020-2024 is also mentioned in the info note. 

The document proposes activities that EUDs and MS Embassies can implement on WPFD in the absence of a dedicated programme on media pluralism and freedom of expression.  It gives examples of how internal EU policies and initiatives can support initial dialogues with counterparts, as part of Human Rights or even Trade dialogues in third countries. 

Furthermore, the Info Note provides examples of existing projects and good practices by EU and MS in third countries. There is a variety of  approaches: building capacities of media outlets, regulatory bodies, supporting digitalisation to increase democratic participation, reinforcing girls access to information and voices in media, tackling disinformation and promoting peace by enhancing the offer of trusted sources of information, media literacy, reinforcing digital and physical safety of journalists, etc.  

Finally, the document lists several sources of information for global trends and country specific situations, including sources to identify experts in the areas of media and freedom of expression.