“The EU institutions allow Russian and Chinese authorities to dictate who may and who may not be allowed to attend press conferences or whether a press conference will be held at all,” Ann Cahill, the vice-president of the International Press Association (API) in Brussels, said at the commission’s regular press briefing on Thursday (3 May).
“I would like to protest at this behavior and formally request President Barroso to hold a press briefing after his meeting with his Chinese visitors,” she added, prompting a round of applause from international correspondents in the EU headquarters.
For her part, Barroso spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde said the commission is one of the world’s most media-friendly administrations. “We are not going to … conduct diplomacy in the press room. That’s not going to be the case for today and it’s not going to be the case tomorrow,” she noted.
Ahrenkilde had earlier celebrated the fact that Thursday is international World Press Freedom day.
In a separate statement by commission vice president and foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton, the EU said: “On the occasion of World Press Freedom day, the European Union recalls these principles and pays tribute to all those who fight for the respect of freedom of expression and for free, pluralistic press and other media.”
Journalists remained unconvinced, however.
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