Luxemburg, 28 July 2022 ( TDI): EU top court has upheld the EU ban on Russian state-owned Media outfit Russian Today. The court has suspended the broadcasting of Russian Today in the European Union.
#EUGeneralCourt dismisses #RussiaToday France’s application for annulment of @EUCouncil ‘s acts, adopted following the outbreak of the war in #Ukraine, temporarily prohibiting them from broadcasting https://t.co/ATb3CgbPxg
— EU Court of Justice (@EUCourtPress) July 27, 2022
❝The European Court of Justice confirmed the suspension of the Russia Today media outlet within the European Union.
We will not tolerate any disinformation: Russia is the aggressor, not vice versa.❞@LaurenceBoone https://t.co/QRycSG9Spd
— France Diplomacy🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@francediplo_EN) July 27, 2022
The decision of the European Union to ban Russia Today was challenged by RT France. Further, the media network contention was based on four pleas in law.
Firstly, the rights of the defense, secondly, freedom of expression and information, thirdly, the right to conduct a business, and lastly, the principle of nondiscrimination on grounds of nationality.
The Court’s Judgement
The court catogracilaly rejected RT France’s plea on all the grounds. It observed, “after examining the different items of evidence adduced by the Council, finds that these constituted a sufficiently concrete, precise and consistent body of evidence capable of demonstrating that, first, RT France actively supported, prior to the adoption of the contested acts, the policy of destabilization and aggression conducted by the Russian Federation towards Ukraine, which ultimately resulted in a large-scale military offensive.”
“Second, RT France broadcast, in particular, information justifying the military aggression against Ukraine, capable of constituting a significant and direct threat to the Union’s public order and security,” the ruling said.
“The Court also finds that those measures do not disproportionately infringe the essential content of RT France’s freedom to conduct a business since they are temporary and reversible.”
“In the light of those considerations, the General Court dismisses the action in its entirety.” The court summed up.
EU ban on Russian Media
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU banned Russian media outlets including Sputnik and RT/Russia Today (RT English, RT UK, RT Germany, RT France, and RT Spanish) in the EU.
Furthermore, European Union took this step to counter the perceived disinformation and media manipulation in the European Union.
“Sputnik and Russia Today are under the permanent direct or indirect control of the authorities of the Russian Federation” further, “and are essential and instrumental in bringing forward and supporting the military aggression against Ukraine,” the European Commission said on its website.
