5 Press Groups Demand EU Open Gaza Files, Fix Access Crisis
In an open letter, the coalition told the commission to confront what it called a “silent crisis” that is blocking journalists from obtaining information needed to hold power to account on issues of public importance.
The letter lands one week after European Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho launched an inquiry into a complaint from a news outlet. The outlet says the commission wrongly withheld 17 documents on EU-funded infrastructure projects in the Gaza Strip.
The outlet requested the files in February for an investigation into how much EU-financed infrastructure in the Palestinian territory had been wrecked by Israeli attacks. The commission declined, saying no overriding public interest justified disclosure. The outlet’s appeal drew no response.
Anjinho has given the commission until Nov. 4 at the latest to answer the appeal. If it does not respond satisfactorily, she will review the documents herself.
Citing that case, the 15 signatories urged the commission to commit to greater transparency. They said reporters routinely face lengthy delays, questionable refusals and heavy redactions that leave released material largely meaningless. In some instances, they added, the commission fails to keep and properly archive key documents.
The letter said the restrictions have impeded reporting on matters of major public interest, among them how EU member states spent billions of euros in post-COVID recovery funds and the bloc’s cooperation with Israel on arms research.
“Around Europe, public debate is being harmed. Stories which should emerge do not. Citizens cannot make important political judgements at critical moments,” the letter said.
The coalition demanded that the commission scrap its December 2024 internal rules of procedure, which it said have made obtaining documents harder, and enforce the regulation on public access to EU documents strictly.
It also called for a renewed action plan on journalists’ access to information. The plan would implement the European Ombudsman’s recommendations, ensure full compliance with European Court of Justice rulings and tighten internal procedures for filing and archiving documents.
“The European Commission’s reputation for safeguarding EU democratic values is in peril. At a time when democratic norms are under attack around the world, now is the time to uphold these values,” the letter warned.
Signatories include the Committee to Protect Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists, the International Federation of Journalists, the International Press Institute and PEN International, along with the news outlet behind the Gaza complaint and three investigative news outlets.
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