N1 TV condemned the fact that Euronews denied its correspondent access to the European Union Enlargement Summit, a statement said on Friday.
“The N1 television network strongly condemns the decision of the organizers of the European Union Enlargement Summit to reject the request our correspondent Nikola Radisic’s request for access to the event which Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will address.
“Considering that this is the second time Radisic has been denied access to events involving the Serbian president (he was the only journalist in Brussels in March who was not invited to Vucic’s press conference) and the fact that the summit is organized by Euronews, whose regional edition is controlled by the state-controlled Telekom Serbia, we have no doubt that this decision is politically motivated and comes directly from Vucic’s cabinet.
“This act is yet another attempt to export Serbia’s well-known methods of stifling press freedom to the heart of Europe. Once again, N1 journalists are being prevented from doing their job—an attack not only on our newsroom but also on the public’s right to be informed.
“The EU Enlargement Summit, held under the slogan “Will the Union Expand and Grow, or Risk Stagnation?”, will bring together European officials, experts, and journalists. Among the speakers, in addition to Aleksandar Vučić, are Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, European Council President Charles Michel, and European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee Chair David McAllister.
“We publicly call on EU officials to strongly condemn such behavior and to ensure that political censorship of the media is not tolerated on European soil. At the same time, we urge colleagues from European and regional newsrooms to show solidarity with journalists who are banned from attending simply because they ask questions the authorities do not want to hear.
“We remind that the international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) today labeled Aleksandar Vučić a “predator of press freedom”, confirming that his regime systematically endangers journalists and the public’s right to information.
“European institutions and summit participants have a responsibility to demonstrate that Brussels will not become a place where media repression is tolerated. Remaining silent in the face of such bans would amount to complicity in the suppression of free journalism,” the statement said.
Source: N1
