Brussels, May 11 (CTK) – The European Parliament will discuss the situation of the media and the risk of their political misuse in the Czech Republic at its two-day plenary session in early June, CTK has learnt from well-informed sources.
CTK has the session’s draft programme, approved by the leadership of the EP faction today, at its disposal.
The two-day plenary session will start in Brussels on May 31.
The risk of political misuse of media in the Czech Republic is to be on the agenda on the second day, June 1.
According to CTK’s information, the planned debate was initiated by the leadership of the EP’s strongest faction, the European People’s Party (EPP), but there was “a broader consensus” on it long before.
The EP was originally to discuss the Czech issue at its session in Strasbourg next week, but later the debate was postponed until the Brussel’s “mini-session” starting on May 31, CTK sources said.
By the time, the formulation of the Czech point on the agenda may change or the factions may decide to completely delete it.
If not, the EP will discuss the situation of media in the Czech Republic shortly after the emergence of audio recordings allegedly showing Finance Minister Andrej Babis influencing the content of the media he owned.
The controversial recordings are one of the aspects of the current political crisis in the Czech Republic, that broke out over PM Bohuslav Sobotka’s (Social Democrats, CSSD) proposal to President Milos Zeman to sack Babis (ANO) and Zeman’s reluctance to do so.
