By Martin Banks - 19th October 2011
We must remember and pay tribute to all the journalists
Jerzy Buzek
Parliament president Jerzy Buzek has hit out at claims that the assembly's annual excellence in journalism prize is 'propaganda'.
Speaking at the awards ceremony on Wednesday, he said the competition aimed to "promote critical and impartial journalism as well as the creation of a common European public space".
He said those participating in this year's event had "contributed to these efforts".
Earlier, the EFD group branded the awards as "propaganda".
Paul Nutall, a UKIP member of the culture committee, said, "This EU funding of an approved journalism prize deeply compromises the journalists involved and opens the EU to the charge of paying for propaganda.
"This is an attack on press independence by the EU – not at the point of a gun, but at the shake of the chequebook.
"It is bad enough that EU already gives AFP news agency millions of euros per year to pump out material sympathetic to the EU. People should be shocked that the EU spends over €2.4bn every year on biased information campaigns to promote itself and its central aim of 'ever closer union'.
"If the EU was so good it would not have to entice people to write good things about it in return for taxpayers' money."
An ALDE source said, "UKIP would say that wouldn't they? Everything that encourages reporting on EU matter is considered by them to be propaganda, but they don't consider the nonsense produced on a daily basis by UK tabloids as propaganda in the other direction.
"If you complain that the EU is not doing enough to communicate what it is doing you can't also criticise efforts to encourage journalists to cover EU/EP topics.
"This is not to say they're suspending their critical faculties. It is up to every media organisation to decide for themselves if they wish to participate or if they feel it would compromise their independence.
"At the end of the day every award ceremony can be characterised as propaganda if you're cynical enough – whether the Oscars or Brit awards."
Buzek, agreed, saying prizes went to journalists who have covered "major European issues or promoted better understanding of the EU institutions and/or EU policies".
He said, "I know how difficult a task it can be to explain Europe, its policies and its decisions. Promoting a better understanding of the EU is sometimes hard and complicated.
"But it is vital. We are some 500 million Europeans and we are all concerned.
"Some politicians tend to criticise or even blame journalists for the lack of information, for the gap between the parliament and European issues on the one hand and the citizens of Europe on the other.
"I disagree with this view. I come from a country where, for almost 50 years, journalists were not allowed to publish what they saw, to write what they thought and to speak out about what they felt.
"I know how precious these values – these common European values – are. What you and your colleagues have been doing for Europe is very important."
He added, "I have always believed that it is even more important to speak to those who vote "no" or who are critical. They provide a check and force us to explain our policies better, and sometimes they help point out errors we may have committed. "
Buzek also described the number of journalists killed in 2011 as "shocking".
Some 42 journalists were killed and 160 imprisoned so far this year.
He said, "We must remember and pay tribute to all the journalists who have died or who have been jailed for their commitment to providing the public with speedy, accurate information from the troubled areas of the world. Their work merits our highest praise and recognition."
