Politico: Von der Leyen hides the report that "hits" Italy!

Ursula von der Leyen  has tried to hide her criticism of Rome's government at the height of her negotiations to be re-elected to a second term.

The news was published by the Brussels-based daily Politico, according to which Von der Leyen had influenced the publication of a report on media freedom in Italy to be postponed.

The report is a Commission investigation that says there has been a crackdown on free media in Italy since far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took office in 2022.

The annual report assessing how EU countries respect the rule of law was expected to be adopted on July 3, but Von der Leyen has intervened to delay it until a new Commission president is appointed.

Von der Leyen seeks to convince the governments of the EU countries for a second term and Italy is an important country.

Politico points out that the delay in releasing the report is unusual and appears to be politically motivated.

Foreign media writes that the Italian government's interventions in the media and lawsuits against journalists have become commonplace in the last two years.

Italy also fell 5 places to 46th in the latest Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Index.

In the foreign media, it is emphasized that Von der Leyen's moves, to avoid criticism of media freedom towards Italy, have irritated the staff within the Commission.

Politico stated that it had been contacted by European Commission spokesman Christian Wigand to soften the stance: “The interpretation of the words in this article goes too far. The report does not identify any country. We monitor the situation in Italy as we do in all EU member states in the context of the annual rule of law report. This is what Jourová was talking about," said the spokesperson.

After the publication of this news, the European Federation of Journalists also reacted.

"We are careful about what Politico writes, because if it were true it would be very serious. We demand that the report on the rule of law be published, this is the most important thing. We do not negotiate with the fundamental rights provided for in the EU treaty. The European Parliament has completely failed with Orban and now together with Von Der Leyen they must not make the same mistake with Meloni or others.

We are very concerned about this historic moment and demand that Von Der Leyen remains consistent with EU values. Because the freedom of the press is one of the pillars," said Renate Schroeder, director of the European Federation of Journalists to "Il Fatto Quotidiano"./ Politico