Russian Federation
[RU] Russia bans some European media outlets
IRIS 2024-7:1/5
Justine Radel-Cormann
European Audiovisual Observatory
In May 2024, the Council of the EU suspended the broadcasting activities of four additional media outlets (Voice of Europe, RIA Novosti, Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta). According to the Council, they were spreading and supporting Russian propaganda.
Following this recent EU decision, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on 25 June 2024. It introduced countermeasures, limiting access to broadcasting resources in the Russian Federation for EU national and pan-European media outlets. It amounts in total to 81 media outlets. For instance, looking at some of the founding member states, the banned companies include le vif magazine (Belgium), Der Spiegel and die Zeit (Germany), La Stampa and La Repubblica (Italy), Nos Television and Radio Company (The Netherlands), Le Monde, Agence France-Presse and Arte (France). Some of the banned European media outlets include Agence Europe and Politico.
The Russian statement concludes that Russia “will revise its decision concerning the above-mentioned media operators if restrictions against Russian media outlets are lifted.”
References
- Council of EU bans broadcasting activities in the EU of four more Russia-associated media outlets
- https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/05/17/russia-s-war-of-aggression-against-ukraine-council-bans-broadcasting-activities-in-the-european-union-of-four-more-russia-associated-media-outlets/
- Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement on retaliatory measures following EU restrictions against Russian media outlets
- https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1959391/?lang=en
This article has been published in IRIS Legal Observations of the European Audiovisual Observatory.