GUE/NGL urges Commission to react to Luxembourg’s threat to press freedom

GUE/NGL requests addition to the agenda on threat to press freedom by Luxembourg

At the opening of the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg today, the GUE/NGL is requesting a statement by the European Commission on the protection of whistle-blowers and journalists in the European Union. This comes in the wake of news that Luxembourg prosecutors have brought French investigative journalist Edouard Perrin to court over his role in the Luxleaks revelations.

MEP Fabio De Masi, GUE/NGL shadow on the special committee on corporate tax avoidance and tax rulings (TAXE), voiced the Group's concern: "Indicting Edouard Perrin is an intolerable attack on press freedom. He is the third person with Antoine Deltour and a PWC colleague to suffer legal prosecution as a consequence of Luxleaks. People risking their careers and more in order to protect the interests of citizens against the tax dodging industry are persecuted while those orchestrating the theft of public money head EU institutions like the Commission."

He continued: "The EU is quick to condemn restrictions on press freedom across the world. The same standards need to apply at home too. We urgently need comprehensive and consistent protection for whistle-blowers and journalists in the EU. The Commission needs to come up with specific proposals along the lines of the principles set out by organisations like Transparency International. Parliament's special committee TAXE should hear all those involved in the Luxleaks revelations and put the systematic protection of whistle-blowers high on its agenda as well."