Established in 1993, World Press Freedom Day commemorates the Windhoek Declaration, a landmark statement emphasizing the fundamental principles of a free press.

This day celebrates the core values of journalism:

• The right to seek, receive, and impart information without censorship or fear.
• The importance of a free press in assessing the state of press freedom globally and advocating for improvements.
• The need to defend journalists from attacks, including violence, intimidation, and other forms of suppression.
• Honoring the memory of journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

A free press is the cornerstone of a functioning democracy. It informs the public, fosters transparency, empowers individuals to participate effectively and acts as a vital watchdog against injustice and human rights violations.

However, the current landscape presents significant challenges. Among these are the rising violence against journalists and the crackdowns on independent media, as many governments restrict press freedom, limiting access to information and silencing dissent.

Also, disinformation and fake news are a constant challenge, as the spread of false information undermines trust in journalism and hinders informed public discourse.

World Press Freedom Day serves as a call to action, and by recognizing the importance of a free press and actively defending it, we can work towards a more informed, just, and democratic world.

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‘The Surveillance States’, a multimedia exhibition based on BIRN’s extensive research into the covert monitoring of journalists in 15 countries in Central and South-East Europe, opened on Wednesday at the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo.

Organized by BIRN, the exhibition seeks to give a deeper insight into the surveillance of journalists from the authoritarian Communist period to the present day.

The exhibition includes video testimonies from journalists who have been the targets of surveillance in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Three journalists from Romania were included in the exhibition

Alexandru Costache, G4Media

The investigation established that 11 people were involved in the surveillance,
and that they were paparazzi, or they presented themselves as such… they
were journalists, they said, journalists at Gândul [online newspaper]. A good
cover for them, for presenting themselves as journalists, they could not be
asked who sent them there, or who gave them the information that we are
meeting there. They obviously invoked the confidentiality of the source, and
could not be questioned on this matter.

Alex Costache, Romanian journalist

Emilia Sercan, independent journalist

The worst consequences of my work would be, briefly, death threats,
surveillance, the use of compromising material to discredit, online violence,
online harassment and other forms of pressure.

Emilia Sercan, independent Romanian journalist

Liana Ganea, Active Watch

The most serious forms of threats or pressure take the form of physical
aggression. Of course that’s where we have the biggest problems and the
biggest fears. And there have been cases of such physical aggression.
One serious case involved a team, not necessarily of journalists, but of people
documenting illegal logging.

Liana Ganea, Active Watch

Journalists are constantly surveilled, monitored and threatened in Romania, and, case after case, people realize this is ongoing. There are no accidents or confusion – politicians want journalists to feel unsafe and constantly threatened so as not to publish their investigation. As long as corruption exists, politicians will always be interested in buying or threatening journalists to keep their mouths shut and stop investigations altogether.

The state of press freedom is deteriorating in Romania, and this is not only visible for the journalists living and working in Romania, but it is also mentioned, year after year, by international press freedom monitoring institutions.

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Additionally, imbalanced enforcement of data protection laws and slow processing of freedom of information requests hinder the free flow of information. This article aims to provide an overview of the current situation and highlight some of the challenges journalists face in the EU, focusing on Romania, as extracted from the latest report on the State of Press Freedom in the EU.

National Security as a Pretext for Restricting Freedom of Expression in Romania

The report’s findings include that in countries like Romania and Slovakia, growing concerns have arisen that national security is being used as an excuse to draft laws restricting freedom of expression. Such laws often pose a threat to media freedom and limit the ability of journalists and media outlets to report on critical issues.

Some platforms are labelled as “pro-Russian” and treated as an enemy during the war, while others are subject to public criticism for publishing against the Government’s foreign policy directives. Such practices are standard in Romania, and the freedom of speech has been replaced by what we can call “conditioned freedom of speech” – you are allowed to speak and publish freely as long as you don’t disturb the current establishment.

Lack of Transparency in Funding Allocation by the Romanian Government

In Romania, there is no transparency in the funding allocation by political parties, as quoted in the report. Public funds are used to bribe media outlets, as happened during the pandemic. This way, newspapers have become political party propaganda tools. Civil society actors have attempted to expose this issue through freedom of information requests, but the parties have declined to disclose information.

There was an intention to support the press during the pandemic. Still, beyond the Government’s intention, one cannot help asking: how many publications avoided criticizing the authorities just because they paid the publications with public funds?

The Case of Emilia Șercan

The case of Emilia Șercan is presented separately in the report. Romanian investigative journalist Emilia Șercan published an investigation in early 2022 that claimed Romania’s Prime Minister had plagiarized his doctoral thesis. Shortly after, Șercan received a threat from a stranger containing personal photos of her. Despite reporting the incident to the police, the screenshots she sent were leaked, leading her to file several criminal complaints against the police and the Minister of Interior. The journalist’s case is the subject of seven criminal cases at various stages in several institutions.

Notably, officers from the Romanian Police Academy are the accused in this case, as they are charged with threatening the journalist to abandon the investigation.

Increasing Censorship and Content Restrictions

The report mentions that civil rights organizations in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain report increased censorship and content restrictions. Public order and security are being used as arguments to propose new laws allowing for even further restrictions on free speech.

This is not good news for the evolution of the Romanian press or civil society, as pressures against the press mean less information and less freedom for the whole society.

As the European Union continues to grapple with the challenges surrounding freedom of expression and information, it is essential to protect the rights of journalists and media outlets to ensure a healthy democratic environment. The abovementioned cases are just a few examples of journalists and civil society actors’ ongoing struggles. Ultimately, the EU must address these issues and ensure that the fundamental principles of press freedom are upheld.

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The European Council released a report involving press freedom in Romania. It was released on the same day that a local press investigation revealed that specific political parties in Romania had created a system for self-promotion on television news, with public funds flowing to the trusts’ accounts via media agencies. Because of the secrecy surrounding these million-euro contracts, the European Council commission claims that “the use of public funds by political parties to finance the media and influence their content based on secret contracts represents the greatest concern,” potentially compromising editorial independence.

According to the European Council, financing the media in Romania by the political parties compromises both the freedom of the press and the democratic process. As a result, the Council calls for the implementation of legislation requiring the disclosure of covert agreements between political parties and the media, upon which public funding for the media is based. This is a common sense request, as the parties use tax-payers money for sponsoring the media institutions.

According to the Council, Romania has achieved significant strides in the legal system and the fight against corruption, even though Romania still has a flawed democracy. However, the institution expresses its worry about Romania’s justice laws, as well, saying in the report that the justice laws, which should be discussed at this time in the Romanian Parliament, do not adhere to the view of the Venice Commission and GRECO in the Monitoring Report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Group of States Against Corruption). To make new revisions to the justice legislation, the Council requests that the Romanian legislature consider the European institutions’ advice in this regard.

There is no doubt about the power of media in influencing Romanian public opinion and how political parties most often handle this power. A thing and a habit have been known for years without anyone taking measures in this regard. It is unknown if it will change with all the warnings of the European Council because Romania is a former communist country where some communist habits, such as bribing others to make them silent or to behave accordingly, are still unscathed after 30 years of early democracy.

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The British publication The Guardian published the massive leak of information from the archives of the Uber corporation, then co-sponsored by media partners from 29 nations and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

According to Rise Project, Uber turned to outdated methods to address powerful politicians in Romania. In order to operate, the firm has spent a large quantity of money on hiring consultants to persuade politicians to change legislation.

The ‘Uber operation’ involved more than 100 politicians and decision-makers from 17 different countries, Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden, as well as members of the European Parliament and European Commission representatives.

In Romania, the documents leaked demonstrate the coordination that took place between Uber executives in Bucharest, the outside consultants and the local officials.

Influence peddling or Lobby?

Analyzing the results of this investigation, the Uber files case falls within the influence-peddling. Why? Because, if the allegations are true, the Uber employees resorted to illegal methods for changing the legislation.

First of all, in Romania, the law regulating lobbying in Romania is only drafted but never adopted. In Romania, professional lobbying isn’t regulated yet, but the influencing activity is already conducted by trade associations, corporations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, syndicates, employer unions, think tanks, lawyers, and other individuals and groups.

However, compared to the lobby, the influence-peddling is a corruption offence provided by Romanian law. It consists in receiving or claiming money or other benefits or accepting promises, or gifts, directly or indirectly, committed by a person who has influence or is believed to have influence over an official or another employee, in order to determine him to do or not to do any act that falls within his duties. Which, by law, is what Uber did.

Even though it is known that Romania is a corrupt country, such cases should shake the Romanian society. It can be seen how easily Romanian politicians can be influenced, especially those in leadership positions. This is how the laws can be changed from one day to the next, very easily masked by political leaders and their ‘influencers’

About Uber’s actions in Romania

Since 2015, when Uber began conducting business in Romania, the company has been successful in changing the law to allow all urban-type passenger transport activities while still prohibiting the transportation of passengers for a fee without a taxi license.

Rise Project found that Peter Imre, an influential person in the Romanian society, who passed away a few days ago, was the person who could guarantee the relationship between Uber and the political region. Peter Imre served as the CEO of Adevarul Holding and was a well-connected local consultant in Romanian politics.

According to the reveals, Uber was successful in persuading many political figures in high positions at that time. Romanian politicians like the Minister of Transport (Ioan Rus), the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Transport (Iulian Tache), the Vice President of the Transport Committee in Parliament (Mircea Toader), the Senate President (Calin Popescu-Tariceanu), the President of the Competition Council (Bogdan Chiritoiu), the Minister for the Information Society (Sorin Grindeanu – now the Minister of Transport) and many others.

Of course, no one in Romania admits that they had a discussion with an Uber official, but time will tell if the journalistic investigation was true or not.

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A reliable source of English-language daily news on Romania and other countries is Valahia News. It is valued for giving its followers trustworthy communication and high-quality information with a genuine view of the happenings. The portal offers interviews, daily news, and well-researched articles on interesting topics.

We want to present the latest and the most important information of the day and stand out from other news sites in our niche through a strong connection with our readers. We write for the foreigners interested in investing in Romania, but also for those that want to get the latest political, economic or sports information.

Maria Andrioaei, Editor-in-chief Valahia News

Valahia is the Romanian spelling of Wallachia, the old Romanian province. It is also the region where Bucharest, the country’s capital, is placed. This is one of the reasons why Visit Bucharest prefers Valahia News as a news partner, as both have the same strong connection to the region and a good reputation among the readers.

Our partnership with Valahia News represents an additional way of offering our readers more reliable and trustful information about the city, but also about the country. Many tourists travelling to Bucharest also want to be updated with the latest news from Romania. Especially during these tough times we live, a platform such as Valahia News can be a reassuring way of showing the tourists how safe is to travel to Romania.

Emma Hermeneanu, Project Manager, Visit Bucharest Today

The cooperation extends beyond the journalistic material, despite the fact that both sites offer helpful information. There is also a more original method for doing that. One of the most difficult YouTube undertakings was started by Valahia News: Romania in 30 seconds. The goal is to introduce Romania in 30-second clips and give YouTube users a taste of the many regions of the country.

Most of the videos come from our readers, but also from the partnership we have with Visit Bucharest Today. This helps us offer more engaging content and provide our fans with more than editorial content.

Maria Andrioaei, Editor-in-chief Valahia News

Valahia News plans to expand its team by integrating a social media expert into new social media channels.

This collaboration between two different agencies, one for news and another for travel, is rare in Romania, but very special. Both Valahia News and Visit Bucharest want to promote Romania internationally, whether it is the latest news from Romania or the events in Bucharest.

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According to research, Romanian media funding processes are frequently unclear, if not outright corrupt. While the most extensive media companies are self-sufficient, most rely on outside funding, including grants. “Using public cash to buy favourable media coverage is a common political tactic,” according to the report.

According to Reporters Without Borders, “attacks against journalists and activists are rising.” This is as true as can be, and the cases in Romania are numerous. It’s worth mentioning the case of the journalist who was beaten for trying to prove illegal deforestation in Romania in September 2021.

Oversight remains a concern, with Parliament passing a law provision – presently being evaluated by the Constitutional Court – that would broaden the extent of interception of electronic communications, including intelligence services,” according to the report.

The media in Romania lack independence and are victims of attempts to interfere, particularly when appointing the heads of public radio and television, but also of the National Audiovisual Council. The latter has also blocked information on the ownership of audiovisual media, under the pretext of protecting personal data. The aggressive political rhetoric against journalists has been taken up by the new populist-nationalist party AUR, which is also the fourth political force in the Romanian Parliament.

Reporters Without Borders Report on Romania

The analysis also indicates that, despite conforming with European standards, legislation safeguarding freedom of expression and freedom of the press is not adequately implemented, including at the constitutional level.

Romania can boast of a diverse, relatively pluralistic media landscape that produces hard-hitting public interest investigations. Pressure from owners, lack of transparency in financing or market difficulties, however, hamper the reliability of the information.

Reporters Without Borders Report on Romania

On the other hand, in 2022, the Republic of Moldova improved 49 to 40th place, 16 spots ahead of Romania. It is a significant improvement for the Republic of Moldova, rated 91st in 2020 and 2021.

According to RSF, the media in the Republic of Moldova is divided into pro-Russian and pro-Western camps, with oligarchs and political elites exerting significant influence over editorial positions.

While part of the media dares to deal with subjects that are embarrassing for the authorities, many confine themselves to following the political agenda of the party to which they are affiliated. Until its revocation by the new parliamentary majority elected in 2021, the Audiovisual Council granted broadcasting licenses to television channels close to the socialists, which multiply the rebroadcasts of propaganda content produced in Russia.

Reporters Without Borders Organization

The analysis also demonstrates that Russia’s (155th) invasion of Ukraine (106th) at the end of February illustrates a degrading proca propaganda war preceded the armed confrontationanda war.

The indicators are assessed in the 180 countries and territories covered in the RSF’s index based on a quantitative assessment of breaches and abuses of press freedom against journalists and the media and a qualitative study based on replies from one hundred press freedom specialists.

It is said that journalism is the watchdog of democracy. In Romania, if you are looking from a subjective perspective, most journalists no longer defend democracy but their own interests. Thankfully, there are still people that are fighting for the truth. But, their job is often among the most difficult jobs when it comes to investigative journalism and exposing illegalities. Romanian journalists are frequently insulted or threatened by government officials and politicians or other figures in leadership positions.

The irony is that after so many years since Romania has been a democratic country, it has not learned that the most incredible power a citizen has is the word, the freedom of expression, and the right to sanction any action that violates democratic principles. Media is an underestimated power and little used for the common good.

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Gheorghe Iancu, Secretary-General of the “Christian People’s Social Union”, died on Saturday during a live broadcast on Facebook, specifically during a Zoom meeting with 12 participants. Gheorghe Iancu died while recording on Saturday, writhing in his chair in front of the other attendees, debating the “Collapse of Romania.”

In a Facebook post, local journalist Horatiu Radulescu, who also noticed the incident, tells what happened.

On Saturday, April 9, Horneț as moderator of his own “show” with “deputy moderator” an individual named Mihaela Meresi, loaded the screen of phones, P.Cs, laptops, and tablets with the image of 12 people, meaning the “moderators, ”ten“ guests ”, for over two hours in the so-called “live”, and another 35-40 minutes after it closed. They talked nonsense, a total pot, hard to hear and understand. Only during the so-called “show” a guest dies, and no one did anything for almost an hour and a half, even though the man had fallen to one side in his chair and … of course, from his side, silence. This is Gheorghe Iancu, Secretary-General of the “Christian People’s Social Union”, who, since the 55th minute of the show, has agonized unnoticed by anyone, even if this is obvious … Cardiac arrest, preceded by cerebral congestion. A man, a patriot, died “live” in the indifference of the “moderators”!

Horatiu Radulescu, Journalist

It could be a classic case of witness blindness when people attending an event don’t notice what is happening. It could also be a case where each of the attendees thought that others had already done something or waited for the others to take action. Either way, nobody knows if a simple call to the emergency number and the arrival of the paramedics on the spot would’ve saved the politician’s life.

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Lucian Romascanu, Romania’s Minister of Culture, announces the launch of an internal investigation into the distribution of pro-Russian propaganda magazines at Bucharest’s National Theater. The minister condemns this event, saying that this behaviour cannot be allowed.

Following the public notices regarding the distribution of a newspaper at TNB’s Studio Hall, the management informed us that tomorrow an internal investigation would start and will file a complaint with the police for unauthorized distribution of materials inside TNB. No one in the management was informed of this extremely serious move. We cannot tolerate that an institution-symbol of the culture of Romania becomes the space for the propagation of some private materials, regardless of their content, even more so of some materials that could promote foreign interests to Romania.

Lucian Romascanu, Romania’s Minister of Culture

On World Theater Day, on March 27, there have been distributed copies of a nationalist and anti-European publication entitled ‘Certitudinea‘ (The Certainty) at the Studio Hall at the Bucharest National Theatre. Five hundred spectators that came to a show found the newspaper at the theatre’s entrance.

In Romania, there is confusion between doctrines, and the accusations of pro-Russian propaganda came from just the fact that the publication is nationalist and euro-sceptic. These days, especially in the context of the conflict in Ukraine, being a euro-sceptic automatically means that you are pro-Russian in the authorities’ opinion.

But is this so? We think this is wrong, and placing nationalism on the same level as pro-Russian opinions is equally dangerous. Also, by encouraging this type of witch hunt against the nationalist publications, the authorities that censor them and label them as pro-Russian do nothing else but make Euro-scepticism stronger.

As it claims on the official website, the publication accused of being pro-Russian outlines “the deep Romanian reality” and is displayed as a source of information with a strong nationalist spirit.

We want, in the last resort, to uphold the dignity of being Romanian, instead of the shame of being Romanian, through all the correct arguments at our disposal. Because it is not healthy to feel guilty about the shameful deeds of some, just as it is not fair to fight with the performance of others. But the way we relate to them, the meaning and purpose with which we praise or condemn, place us each in our proper neighbourhood.

Miron Manega, writer at Certitudinea

In this context, an internal investigation will be opened into the cultural institution, and a complaint was filed with the police for “unauthorized distribution of materials“.

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The chairman of the parliamentary Commission for the control of Romanian Intelligence Service activity, Senator Ioan Chirteș, said on February 28 that the decision of the Romanian Government to block Russian sites “is absolutely necessary“.

The Government’s announcement on the measures taken by the Romanian authorities to shut down certain sources of spreading false news and misinformation is welcome. Since the beginning of the military conflict in Ukraine, information aggression has also spread in Romania. The decision to ban sites that spread fake news in our country is a very important step. In the last few days, the Romanian officials have been fighting numerous false news items which appeared in the context of the conflict in Ukraine.

Ioan Chirtes, Romanian Senator

Russia Today will no longer broadcast in Romania, and the other site of Russian propaganda, Sputnik, will be blocked as well. The lists of sites that will be blocked in Romania include: ru.md.sputniknews.ro, md.sputniknews.com, ro.md.sputniknews.com, profitsmall.com, yourincome.site, citeșteșitu.com, rtnews.ro, cloudx.ro.

I will continue to monitor the situation regarding the disinformation phenomenon in Romania, together with my parliamentary colleagues from the Control Commission. At the Commission, we constantly make sure that the decision-makers of the Romanian state receive relevant information promptly. I am glad to see the authorities are taking that action. Misinformation is one of the powerful weapons used by Russia in this senseless conflict because the truth does not justify their actions.

Ioan Chirtes, Romanian Senator

The decision regarding the blocking of the Russian news site in Romania comes after the head of the European Commission announced the ban on Russia Today and Sputnik from across the European Union. Many EU countries have banned these news sites following misinformation caused by Russian propaganda about the situation between Russia and Ukraine. Through these measures, Romania joins the decisions made at the European level to confront increased information aggressions in the context of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.

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