Commission Vice-President stands up for Hungarian news portal Index

Věra Jourová wrote Index the following:

“Democracy cannot work without free and independent media.

“The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated, more than ever, the crucial role of journalists to inform citizens, to check facts and to hold governments to account.

“But while readership and audiences have been record high, revenues have been heavily hit. Economic pressure should not turn into political pressure.

“I have been following the situation of Index with concern. I would like to express my solidarity with the staff of Index who has been working under very difficult conditions.

“I want to tell you: “What you are doing, the values you are fighting for, media freedom and pluralism, are essential for democracy, and for Europe – and all the supporting messages of your readers testify of the importance of your work”.

“You can count on my support.”

It has been a couple of turbulent weeks for Index. First, its editor-in-chief Szabolcs Dull war removed from the management board for publicly warning on 21 June of a planned overhaul that would put in jeopardy the freedom of Index journalists to publish stories critical of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government.

Two days later, CEO András Pusztay resigned, saying the Board of Directors had taken a decision at a staff meeting that he could not have seen through with a good conscience. His replacement, Zsolt Ződi, stepped down a week later, saying that “carrying out the necessary changes in such a large organisation is a task way beyond me.”