CFSP Statements

Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the amnesty of convicted journalists by Algeria on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day

The EU welcomes the amnesty issued by President Bouteflika on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on behalf of convicted journalists. This measure constitutes a positive signal as regards the willingness of the Algerian leadership to respect the freedom of the press. The EU hopes that this measure will be followed by a change in the practice of the application of the law on defamation in order to bring it in line with Algeria’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and  Political Rights

The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia * and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, align themselves with this declaration.

* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.