Censorship in the EU as a result of the war in Ukraine. Case T-125/22 RT France v Council
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Date
2023
Authors
Lonardo, Luigi
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Publisher
Sweet and Maxwell
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Abstract
The judgment in RT France v Council of the European Union confirmed the validity of a ban on broadcasting of any content by certain Russian-sponsored media companies in the EU territory, because it considered that the Russian Federation engaged in continuous and concerted propaganda against the EU and its Member States. The ban is a highly unusual measure in the context of EU restrictive measures. It was challenged by RT France, a media company based in France but predominantly funded by the Russian Federation. The case raises complex and novel legal questions within the EU legal framework. This analysis is dedicated to three of them. The first issue concerns EU competence and the legal basis for the ban: can the EU lawfully adopt censorship, inside the EU’s territory, through a Common Foreign and Security Policy measure? The second issue involves freedom of expression: can RT France rely on this right in the first place, and does propaganda fall under the umbrella covered by freedom of speech? The third issue centres on the weight of the context (a war in the EU’s neighbourhood) as a justification for the measure. In this respect, this analysis argues that the General Court convincingly explained why the measure strikes a right balance between the protection of free of speech on the one hand, and the protection of the EU’s public order, of public security, and of other EU values on the other hand.
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Keywords
Broadcasting , Censorship , EU law , France , Russia , Ukraine , European Union , Human rights , Media and entertainment
Citation
Lonardo, L. (2023) 'Censorship in the EU as a result of the war in Ukraine. Case T-125/22 RT France v Council', European Law Review, 48(6), pp. 707-719
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© 2023, Sweet & Maxwell. This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in European Law Review following peer review. The definitive published version is available online on Westlaw UK.