THE SITUATION OF THE MEDIA IN THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP COUNTRIES AND IN RUSSIA

Seminar for journalists co-organised by the and the European Commission

Tuesday 17 November & Wednesday 18 November 2015

Draft Programme

17 November 2015

European Parliament, Paul Henri Spaak building, room 4B001

09:30 – 09:45 Welcome and introduction Yannis Darmis, Head of Media Services Unit, European Parliament Claus Giering, Head of Unit for Communication, DG NEAR, European Commission

09:45 – 10:15 Official opening Ryszard Czarnecki (ECR, Poland), Vice-President of the European Parliament (tbc) Christian Danielsson, Director General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, European Commission

10:15 – 11:15 Panel 1: The European Parliament’s role in supporting free media, free speech, democracy and human rights Moderator: EP official Heidi Hautala (Greens/EFA, Finland), Chair of EP Delegation to Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Elena Valenciano (S&D, Spain), Chair of EP Subcommittee on Human Rights (tbc) Eduard Kukan (EPP, Slovakia), EP Rapporteur on European Neighbourhood Policy Questions & Answers

11:15 – 11:30 Coffee break

11:30 – 13:00 Panel 2: Media freedom in the Eastern neighbourhood Moderator: A representative of International Federation of Journalists (possibly from the region?) (tbc) Antanas Guoga (ALDE, ), Vice-Chair of EP Delegation to EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (tbc) Andrejs MAMIKINS (S&D, Latvia), Vice-Chair of EP Delegation for relations with Belarus (tbc) Andi Cristea (S&D, Romania), Chair of EP Delegation to EU-Moldova Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (tbc) Boris Navasardsyan, Chairman Yerevan Press Club and member of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum Journalist, media, EaP country (tbc) Questions & Answers

13:00 – 15:00 Lunch Members' restaurant, Altiero Spinelli building, ground floor

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15:00 – 16:15 Panel 3: Misinformation and the role of independent media in Ukraine and Russia Moderator: Oliver Money-Kyrle, International Federation of Journalists Andrej Plenkovic (EPP, Croatia), Chair of EP Delegation for relations with Ukraine Othmar Karas (EPP, Austria), Chair of EP Delegation to EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (tbc) Vygaudas Usackas, Head of the EU Delegation in Moscow, EEAS (tbc) Journalist from Ukraine (tbc) Journalist from Russia (tbc) Questions & Answers

16:15 – 16:45 Projection of film ‘The Word and the Bullet’ Theme: Combatting impunity for killings of journalists in Dagestan Introduced by Svetlana Svistunova, film director, and Nadezda Azhgikhina, Secretary of Russian Union of Journalists

16:45 – 18:30 Guided tour (in English) through the EP’s audiovisual facilities // Parlamentarium // Time for reporting

18:45 Dinner (keynote speech (tbc))

18 November 2015

European Parliament, Paul Henri Spaak building, room 4B001

9:30 – 10:45 Panel 4: The EU's Support to Democracy and Media Freedom

Vassilis Maragos, Regional Programmes Neighbourhood East, DG NEAR, European Commission Somebody from EIDHR or FPI Galina Arapova, Mass Media Defence Centre (EIDHR beneficiary) Pietro Ducci, Acting Director, European Parliament Directorate General for External Relations (tbc) Questions & Answers

10:45 – 11:15 Coffee break

11:15 – 12:30 Panel 5: A renewed ENP and strategic communication activities in the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia

Simon Mordue, Director for Strategy and , DG NEAR, European Commission Jerzy Pomianowski, Director of European Endowment for Democracy Name tbc, Head of East Strategic Communication Team, EEAS (tbc) Delegation representative

12:30 – 14:30 Lunch Members' restaurant, Altiero Spinelli building, ground floor

14:30 – 16:00 Visit to Europe by Satellite (EbS), the EU's audiovisual information service // Time for individual meetings/reporting

16:00 End of programme

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Background note

The European Parliament and the European Commission are holding a seminar for journalists over two days on 17-18 November in titled "The situation of the media in the Eastern Partnership countries and in Russia". The main aim is to discuss the challenges facing independent journalists and media organisations in these countries and the role of the European institutions in supporting press freedom, although broader questions of political, social and economic reform in the region may also be explored.

At the seminar, journalists from the EU, Russia and Eastern Partnership countries will be able to discuss the issues with MEPs, senior figures from the European Commission and specially invited journalists from the countries in question. There will also be an opportunity to learn about the EU institutions' audio-visual communication tools. The event is being organised by Parliament's DG Communication in conjunction with the Commission.

The political context

Successive EU enlargements have drawn the countries of Eastern Europe and the Southern Caucasus closer to the EU, which is increasingly affected by the security, stability and prosperity of those states. The EU is seeking to build closer ties and promote economic and political reform in the region through the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and more recently the Eastern Partnership (EaP).

The ENP, dating from 2004, was devised to avoid the emergence of new dividing lines between the enlarged EU and its neighbours. Embracing ten Mediterranean countries as well as six east European states (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), it aims to promote democracy, the rule of law, good governance, human rights, a market economy, free trade, sustainable development and poverty reduction.

The ENP is chiefly a bilateral policy, comprising individual Action Plans between the EU and each ENP partner that set out an agenda for political and economic reform. The main funding mechanism is the European Neighbourhood Instrument (over 15 billion for 2014-2020).

The EaP, launched in May 2009, builds on the ENP but seeks a step-change in the EU's relations with the six east European countries. It aims to pave the way for speedier political association and further economic integration between the EU and the partner countries. The indicative budget for the EaP between 2014 and 2017 is €741 million - €906 million.

New association agreements, including deep and comprehensive free trade agreements, are a key feature of the EaP, which also adds to the ENP a multilateral dimension for the six states concerned, including practical initiatives on border management, integration of electricity markets and disaster response. The European institutions are now in the process of discussing a broad reform of the ENP.

The European Parliament conducts bilateral relations with the parliaments of each EaP country through inter-parliamentary delegations. A new body - the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, launched in May 2011 - provides a multilateral parliamentary dimension to the EaP. It consists of 60 MEPs and ten MPs from each of five eastern partners. Belarus has not been invited to send representatives to Euronest owing to the political and human rights situation in the country.

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Parliament's support for media freedom and democratic values

Among issues of perennial concern in the EaP states are free speech, media freedom, democracy and human rights. The EU regards all these as fundamental rights and the European Parliament has voiced its support for them in numerous resolutions over the years. The EP has also awarded its prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to campaigners in Belarus and Russia in recognition of their quest for freedom and human rightsi.

In addition, Parliament supports initiatives in this field by the European Endowment for Democracy to help civil societies, NGOs and journalists from the region to achieve greater independence and higher professional standards, including in the Russian language.

Contacts in the European Parliament Ioannis Darmis 00 32 2 284 38 16 Jack Blackwell 00 32 2 284 29 29 Iris Walter 00 32 2 284 30 17

i 2004: Belarusian Association of Journalists 2006: Aleksander Milinkevich, leader of the opposition in Belarus 2009: Memorial.

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