The Civil Liberties Union for Europe published this month a report analyzing how free the press is in the EU, including in Romania. Among other things, the organization warns about the ban imposed on Romanian photojournalists to participate at the beginning of government meetings.
The Media Freedom Report 2026 is the fifth annual report on press freedom in the European Union by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties), a European NGO defending human rights and the rule of law in the EU.
Liberties says its report is based on its own research and contributions from NGOs in several countries and provides a relevant picture of the state of press freedom in the EU, including Romania.
The report analyzes legislative developments and trends from 2025, proposes recommendations for European institutions and tracks the implementation of important laws, such as the European Media Freedom Act.
What does it say about Romania?
Liberties warns that, last year, access to information continued to be restricted in practice in Romania.
“Although the current government made a public commitment to transparency at the beginning of its mandate, it banned photojournalists from attending the beginning of government meetings, a practice that existed until then.
Despite protests and an official letter from a major news agency, the government has maintained the ban, significantly limiting visual documentation of its activity.” presents the NGO in its report.
One such moment occurred in November 2025 when the Government’s press officer aggressively prevented journalists from asking questions of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.
Shortly afterwards, the Victoria Palace sent an official clarification, expressing regret for the employee’s behavior and announcing disciplinary checks.
Liberties adds that individual members of the PNL “they also contributed to restricting access to information by refusing to answer journalists’ questions, leaving press conferences and refusing to divulge information of public interest, such as possible contracts between political parties and media outlets.”
The organization also recalls the moment when the head of POT, Anamaria Gavrila, called 112 to call the Police to evict the journalists from the area intended for the offices of the POT party in the Parliament.
Thus, states Liberties, the head of POT treated “their legitimate presence as a disturbance, not as an exercise of press freedom.”
