Brussels will continue to follow the developments of the situation with media freedom in Ukraine, EU Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said on Friday, commenting on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plans to enact a law that regulates mass media in the country
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2019) Brussels will continue to follow the developments of the situation with media freedom in Ukraine, EU Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said on Friday, commenting on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plans to enact a law that regulates mass media in the country.Earlier in November, Zelenskyy, citing an abundance of what he called fake news, tasked the government with drawing up a bill that would overhaul media regulations by the end of 2019.
"I would not be entering into discussions on draft laws, but when it comes to freedom of expression and independence of the media in Ukraine, of course, we attach the highest importance to this and we will continue to monitor the developments," the spokeswoman pointed out.
The state of press freedom in Ukraine has continued to deteriorate despite the country's aspirations of meeting European standards. Most notably, journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed in a 2016 car bomb blast, an act which investigators have attributed to his professional pursuits. In 2018, authorities detained RIA Novosti Ukraine portal head Kirill Vyshinsky on charges of treason. He was held in custody in excess of 400 days without proper court proceedings. He was released in August and returned to Russia in September.
