Latest posts
Right to access is fundamental
The EU Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros confirms the Lisbon treaty, the European Medicines Agency respects that: The right of access to information held by the authorities is a fundamental right in Europe. In the most recent case this has a concrete...
Black Tuesday for transparency
The public until Tuesday had the right to know the names of the officials working on their behalf and of lobbyists trying to influence those officials. However Tuesday the 29th of June the European Court of Justice decided that the strict data protec...
In praise of Bulgarian journalists
Last month it was revealed, that the daughter and the wife of the responsible Bulgarian minister at the time were amongst the top-recipients of EU farmsubsidies. Subsidies that were administrated by the very same minister. €700.000 to the daughter...
Visiting the neighbours
Let’s go visit the neighbours. That’s the starting point for a journalist and a photographer from Romania to do raw-style and deeply fascinating journalism travelling through the countries around the Black Sea. The immediate result is a h...
While the ball is rolling Italy works on gagging-law
Blank front page as protest: “The gag-law denies citizens the right to be informed”. Some weeks ago this blog had to show the blank front pages from major Estonian newspapers in protest against a law against protections of journalists’...
Let’s be inspired
The incoming UK government may have learnt from last year’s scandal about MP expenses. The more optimistic version would be that it simply trusts its citizens. If the promises by David Cameron & Co made a few days ago are carried out, the Briti...
Inspiring challenge
The future of journalism is not a European subject. Yet. Or is it? The question is currently asked by journalists, media people, publishers, programmers, officials, tv-stations, geeks. Dutch TV held a highly interesting conference about The Future of...
Follow the subsidy-money
Do we really want to transfer million-euro subsidies to individual recipients in the agro-industry? The latest publication of who got what from the EU farmsubsidies proved that the number of subsidy-millionaires has risen significantly. And right now...
Many more millionaires
At least 20 per cent more EU farmsubsidy-millionaires. Probably the figure will even go up to one third more millionaires, once all data are finally analysed (and when the British government will fulfill the EU transparency requirements). For two day...
Brussels quarrel part of media trend?
You get a phone call. On the other end of the line is a person representing himself as a journalist. Albeit a journalist working for an interest organisation. How do you react? The situation occurred recently in Brussels, when a part time staff membe...
Funding quality journalism
If journalists have a good idea for an investigative story but lack time or money to carry out the research, they can apply for funding. A new call for proposals now is open at Journalismfund.eu. This time including a new option for covering Europe...
Risking eight days in jail
A Danish journalists risks a fine of 5000 Danish Crowns (€ 670) or eight days in jail, because he wants to protect information obtained from sources. The decision to fine the journalist, if he did not witness in a court case, was appealed to the...
60 seconds and more
A while ago I was asked to give classes about EU-journalism at a journalism school in Belgium. “Do remember to tell them, why the EU is so boring,” the coordinator joked. But since when has power been boring? Still that is one overriding percepti...
Forbidden fruit
Let me tell you a story from Northern Jutland, a Danish province between North Sea and Baltic Sea – when you go to the beach of Skagen you can see the two Seas meet. Now why a story from Northern Jutland, when this blog-post really is about a recen...
Paper ages
Sweden – the mother nation of a transparent administration with a freedom of information law since 1766 – is currently struggling with itself about exactly freedom of information. Should citizens enjoy the same openness as in the old pape...
Blank front pages
Three Estonian newspapers today publish empty front pages in protest against a draft law sent to the Estonian parlament today, according to Meelis Mandel, the editor in chief of Business Newspaper Äripëav. Postimees, Ohtuleht and Äripäev where...
Estonian journalists fear for their sources
In Estonia, new draft legislation would allow journalists to be incarcerated for up to one year for protecting their sources. Protection of journalists’ sources is clearly stated in European Human rights practice. This does, apparently, not prevent...
How dear was the past Commission?
Two days ago the European Parliament voted in the new commissioners. One day ago Dutch tv-station RTL published, how much the commissioners in the previous team spent on travelling and gifts in 2009. The story is interesting from a journalistic point...
Truly European journalism
Slave workers in Europe. Personal tragedies, evil masterminds, fear, violence and threats to journalists. And European questions. All elements for a good story are there. Yet it took Adrian Mogos from Romania two years before he had finally publish...
Cross-questioning
An obvious question for the incoming commissioner of agriculture tomorrow is about who gets the EU farmsubsidies, and who uses them for what. In other words a question by the Budget Control Committe (last question page 3). Why? In order to make a goo...
