By Martin Banks - 15th October 2009
We are not out to honour journalists who tell us how good the EU
Ioannis Darmis
A senior parliament official has hit back at criticism of an award for European journalists.
The awards, supposed to recognise the role played by the media in "explaining" the EU to a wider public, were presented in parliament by the assembly's president Jerzy Buzek on Thursday.
But critics, including British eurosceptic MEPs, have criticised the awards, now in their second year, as merely being an opportunity to "lavish praise" on the EU and parliament in particular.
One British deputy, who did not wish to be named, said, "The whole thing is a farce. You've got journalists being well rewarded by parliament for writing or broadcasting pieces that sell the merits of the EU. Where is the objectivity or journalistic integrity in that?"
Ioannis Darmis, head of unit in parliament's communications directorate, told this website that such claims were "utter nonsense".
He said, "These awards are totally objective and totally independent. The whole idea is to promote a better understanding of the institutions and policies of the EU.
"I am aware of the criticism but it is unfair to suggest they are designed merely to reward those in the media who 'slavishly' heap praise on everything the EU does. Nothing could be further from the truth.
"We are not out to honour journalists who tell us how good the EU is but, rather,those who are critical of the EU, including parliament."
He pointed out that the contestants were judged by journalists in each member state.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Buzek said both the written and broadcast media had an important role to play in explaining how the EU works, including the "importance" of the stalled Lisbon treaty.
This year's competition attracted over 250 entries from all over Europe.
The four group winners were German Ines Possemeyer (written press), Hungarian Belint Szlanko (internet), Pole Zbigniew Plesner (radio) and Elke Sasser and Kristian Kahler (TV), both from Germany.
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