17 November European Parliament, Paul Henri Spaak building, room 4B001

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2 17 November 2015 European Parliament, Paul Henri Spaak building, room 4B001 Interpretation available throughout the seminar in EN/FR/DE/PL/RO/LV/AZ/HY/UK/RU/KA/AZ 09:30 09:45 Welcome and introduction Yannis Darmis, Head of Media Services Unit, DG COMM 1 European Parliament Claus Giering, Head of Unit for Communication, DG NEAR 2, European Commission 09:45 10:15 Official opening Ryszard Czarnecki (ECR, Poland), Vice-President of the European Parliament Christian Danielsson, Director General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, European Commission 10:15 11:15 Panel 1: The European Parliament s role in supporting free media, free speech, democracy and human rights Moderator: Yannis Darmis, Head of Media Services Unit, European Parliament Heidi Hautala (Greens/EFA, Finland), Chair of EP Delegation to Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Eduard Kukan (EPP, Slovakia), EP Rapporteur on European Neighbourhood Policy Marietje Schaake (ALDE, Netherlands), EP Rapporteur for the 2013 EP resolution on media freedom 1 Directorate General for Communication 2 Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement 2

3 11:15 11:30 Coffee break 11:30 13:00 Panel 2: Media freedom in the Eastern neighbourhood Moderator: Gunnar Wiegand, Director, Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia and OSCE, European External Action Service (EEAS) Traian Ungureanu (EPP, Romania), Member of EP Delegation to EU- Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee Andrejs Mamikins (S&D, Latvia), Vice-Chair of EP Delegation for relations with Belarus Boris Navasardsyan, Chairman of Yerevan Press Club, and member of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum Petru Macovei, Director of Association of Independent Press, Moldova 13:00 15:00 Lunch Members' restaurant, Altiero Spinelli building, ground floor * Invitation only * 15:00 16:15 Panel 3: Disinformation and the role of independent media in Ukraine and Russia Moderator: Oliver Money-Kyrle, International Federation of Journalists Andrej Plenkovic (EPP, Croatia), Chair of EP Delegation for relations with Ukraine Othmar Karas (EPP, Austria), Chair of EP Delegation to EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee Jon Kyst, East Strategic Communication Task Force, EEAS Tetyana Matychak, Editor in chief of Stop Fake, Ukraine Kogershyn Koshchugulov, TV presenter at Dozhd TV, Russia 16:15 16:30 Coffee break 3

4 16:30 17:00 Projection of film The Word and the Bullet Theme: Combatting impunity for killings of journalists in Dagestan Introduced by Svetlana Svistunova, film director, and Nadezda Azhgikhina, Secretary of Russian Union of Journalists 17:00 18:30 Guided tour (in English) through the EP s audiovisual facilities // Parlamentarium // Time for reporting 18:45 Dinner with keynote speech Keynote speaker: Orlando Figes, Professor of History College, University of London, Author of Revolutionary Russia, Brasserie Léopold, Rue du Luxembourg 35, 1050 Brussels at Birkbeck * Invitation only * Participants in the dinner will be accompanied to the restaurant. 18 November 2015 European Parliament, Paul Henri Spaak building, room 4B001 9:30 10:45 Panel 4: The EU's Support to Democracy and Media Freedom Moderator: Andris Kesteris, Principal Advisor Civil Society and Media, DG NEAR, European Commission Vassilis Maragos, Acting Director for Neighbourhood East, DG NEAR, European Commission Stefan Krauss, Acting Head of Human Rights Actions Unit, Directorate for Democracy Support, DG EXPO 3, European Parliament Mikhal Yanchuk, Belsat TV, Belarus Ilham Safarov, Internews Azerbaijan (tbc) Lasha Tughushi, Editor of Resonansi and Chair of the Georgian National Civil Society Platform 3 Directorate General for External Policies 4

5 10:45 11:15 Coffee break 11:15 12:30 Panel 5: A renewed ENP and strategic communication activities in the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia Moderator: Commission Claus Giering, Head of Unit for Communication, European Simon Mordue, Director for Strategy and Turkey, DG NEAR, European Commission Jerzy Pomianowski, Executive Director, European Endowment for Democracy Rita Rudusa, Executive Director Baltic of Centre for Media Excellence, Latvia Anneli Kimber, East Strategic Communication Task Force, EEAS Matthew Green, ECORYS UK Ltd. - Let's meet Europe 4 12:30 14:30 Lunch Members' restaurant, Altiero Spinelli building, ground floor * Invitation only * 14:30 16:00 Visit to Europe by Satellite (EbS) // Time for individual meetings/reporting 16:00 End of programme 5

6 Introduction The European Parliament and the European Commission are holding a joint seminar for journalists over two days on November in Brussels titled "The situation of the media in the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia". The main aim is to discuss the challenges facing independent journalists and media organisations in these countries and the role of the European institutions in supporting press freedom, although broader questions of political, social and economic reform in the region may also be explored. Journalists from the EU, the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia will be able to discuss the issues with MEPs, senior figures from the European Commission and specially invited journalists from the countries in question. Strengthening ties with the EU's neighbours: the ENP and the EaP Successive EU enlargements have drawn the countries of Eastern Europe and the Southern Caucasus closer to the EU, which is increasingly affected by the security, stability and prosperity of those states. The EU is seeking to build closer ties and promote economic and political reform in the region through the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and more recently the Eastern Partnership (EaP). The ENP, dating from 2004, was devised to avoid the emergence of new dividing lines between the enlarged EU and its neighbours. Embracing ten Mediterranean countries as well as six east European states (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), it aims to promote democracy, the rule of law, good governance, human rights, a market economy, free trade, sustainable development and poverty reduction. Russia takes part in Cross-Border Cooperation activities under the ENP but is not a part of the ENP as such. The ENP is chiefly a bilateral policy, comprising individual Action Plans between the EU and each ENP partner that set out an agenda for political and economic reform. The main funding mechanism is the European Neighbourhood Instrument ( 15.4 billion for ). The ENP was last reviewed in 2011, following the 'Arab Spring' uprisings. Given the significant developments in the Neighbourhood since 2011, a fundamental review of the principles on which the policy is based as well as its scope and how instruments should be used has taken place this year and proposals for the future direction of the ENP should be published in November

7 The EaP (the 'eastern dimension' of the ENP) was launched in May It builds upon the ENP but seeks a step-change in the EU's relations with the six east European countries, aiming to pave the way for speedier political association and further economic integration between the EU and the partner countries. The indicative budget for the EaP between 2014 and 2017 is 741 million million. New association agreements, including deep and comprehensive free trade agreements, are a key feature of the EaP, which also adds to the ENP a multilateral dimension for the six states concerned, including practical initiatives on border management, integration of electricity markets and disaster response. The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, launched in May 2011, provides the EaP with a multilateral parliamentary dimension. It consists of 60 Members of the European Parliament and ten MPs from each of five eastern partners. Belarus has not been invited to send representatives to Euronest owing to the political and human rights situation in the country. The European Parliament also conducts bilateral relations with the parliaments of each EaP country through interparliamentary delegations. EU-Russia relations The current basis for EU-Russia cooperation is the 1994 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. In response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and continuing destabilisation of Ukraine, targeted measures have been taken against Russia in areas including access to capital markets, defence, dual-use goods and sensitive technologies. Cooperation programmes with Russia are now limited to cooperation between bordering regions of EU Member States and Russia and programmes bringing EU and Russian citizens closer (e.g. civil society, academic and scientific exchanges). 7

8 The EU's support for media freedom and democratic values Among issues of perennial concern in the EaP states and Russia are free speech, media freedom, democracy and human rights. The European Parliament has voiced its support for these principles in numerous resolutions over the years and has also awarded its prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to campaigners in Belarus and Russia in recognition of their quest for freedom and human rights i. In addition, Parliament supports initiatives in this field by the European Endowment for Democracy to help civil societies, NGOs and journalists from the region to achieve greater independence and higher professional standards. The European Commission actively supports and promotes democracy and human rights, including media freedom, through a variety of instruments. In addition to the worldwide European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights and the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace, in the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) supports civil society in the promotion of democracy and human rights. Ongoing support since 2010 for projects featuring media-related activities as part of their actions amounts to 54 million. Communication is an important tool in furthering the EU's overall policy objectives. The Eastern Partnership Visibility Strategy seeks to ensure that those who stand to benefit from the Eastern Partnership in the fullness of time are kept fully aware of these benefits. An Action Plan on Strategic Communication in Eastern Partnership countries was presented to Member States in June this year. This Action Plan builds on and takes forward what the EU Delegations are already doing on the ground. Contacts in the European Parliament Ioannis Darmis Jack Blackwell Iris Walter Krasimir Savov Contacts in the European Commission Claus Giering Carmen Falkenberg Anke Schuster i 2004: Belarusian Association of Journalists 2006: Aleksander Milinkevich, leader of the opposition in Belarus 2009: Memorial 8