Freedom safeguards for Italy’s public service media ‘urgently needed’

EU officials ask Giorgia Meloni to guarantee independence and funding of public broadcaster amid growing worries

The European Commission has raised the alarm about the independence of Italy’s public service media and Rome’s failure to reform the country’s strict defamation law, which is widely seen as silencing government critics.

In a report issued on Wednesday EU officials identified “persisting challenges related to the effectiveness of [the] governance and funding” of Italy’s public service media, urging Giorgia Meloni’s government to guarantee both its independence and its funding.