Among other actions resembling Orwellian thought control, the EU Commission has decided to ban the Euractiv media network from its background briefings, prompting Editor in Chief Matthew Karnitschnig to state that independent journalism in Brussels is now “on the enemies list.... In fact, it has become an endangered species.” He added that “At the beginning of this year, we set about infusing the ‘EU bubble’ with a heavy dose of critical journalism.... Not all recipients reacted well, least of all the [EU] Commission, which recently banned us from its background briefings—the off-the-record sessions during which [EU Commission] President Ursula von der Leyen’s advisers seek to steer the message they’re trying to send on any given issue to the press.”
Karnitschnig cited coverage he believes contributed to the EU’s decision to ban his network: “Maybe it was our debunking of the legend pushed by the Commission that von der Leyen’s pilots were forced to resort to ‘paper maps’ to land her plane in Bulgaria amid a purported Russian attack…. Or was it that we lambasted her absurd plan for a European intelligence service?”
It is doubtful that the EU Commission will be able to restore support for its absurd narratives by attempting to silence critics, especially as their numbers grow.
