Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-07-05-Speech-1-185"
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"en.20100705.20.1-185"2
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"I am appearing before you here today to express more than my astonishment or regret that, although we are living in the 21st century, in some parts of Europe, when it comes to freedom of speech in the press, there are practices prevalent which take us right back to the time of the Inquisition.
I find it difficult to understand how, even though freedom of speech is a constitutional right in the European Union, there are still Member States where both their own constitution and European regulations on the right to free expression are classified as national security weaknesses.
Let us not forget that it is the role of the press to inform the general public about every aspect of the life of the community it reflects and that, as long as it does not disclose documents classified as strictly confidential, there can be no question of the relevant state’s security being affected.
It would be absurd for governments to be able to resort at any time to groundless explanations to gag the press directly or to use crooked laws to be able to impose self-censorship on it, triggered by fear. Basically, I do not think that a country whose government becomes the only source of press information can still merit being called a free or a European country, for that matter."@en1
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