Today the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) solemnly adopted a joint declaration on media freedom, addressing the chilling effect draft EU legislation on “Trade Secrets” could have on investigative journalism.

In the declaration, EBU Members – public broadcasters in and around Europe – express their deep concern regarding the potential introduction in European legislation of restrictions to journalists’ capacity to investigate and report on business activities that are in the public interest.

EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot said: “All EBU Members are very concerned that EU legislation could genuinely introduce restrictions to media freedom and the right of the public to be informed. Investigative journalism underpins public interest objectives and is as essential as ever to further ensure informed citizenship in Europe.”

The EBU declaration concretely outlines provisions which should figure in the Trade Secrets Directive, with negotiations about to start between the EU Member States, the European Parliament and the European Commission to finalise the legislation.

Ambiguous wording, for example requesting journalists to “make legitimate use” of information in their possession, coupled with a broad definition of  “trade secrets” could create legal uncertainty for journalists and result in an EU law which encourages self-censorship.