Commenting on the placing of posters of a Dnevni Avaz journalist around Sarajevo yesterday, EUD/EUSR spokesperson Andy McGuffie said:

“We condemn all attempts to intimidate individual journalists or media outlets, and support calls for such actions to be investigated by the competent authorities. It is not acceptable that journalists are the targets of such campaigns. We call on all forces in society and citizens to uphold the maximum respect for the journalistic profession. This is not the first such incident in BiH this year and the country should look to its international reputation in this regard.

“At the same time we underline the need for journalists and media houses to exercise the highest professional ethics and to ensure they are acting within the law. BiH needs a responsible media.

“If there is no free media, citizens are deprived of balanced, factual and reliable information. Free media builds democracy and effective institutions. Therefore free media is non-negotiable for the EU. It is a precondition for freedom of expression and – as part of the Copenhagen political criteria – an integral part of the path towards EU membership.  This is why the European Commission has recently launched Guidelines for our support to media freedom and media integrity in enlargement countries.”

Note to editors

The Guidelines can be seen at: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/press_corner/elarg-guidelines-for-media-freedom-and-integrity_210214.pdf