French parliamentarian doubts legality of the decision to ban two Russian media networks

The French representative in the European Parliament, Eileen Laporte, asked the European Commission about the legal justifications for the decision to ban the Russian networks (RT) and (Sputnik) in the European Union’s countries.

According to a letter sent by Laporte to the European Commission and briefed on by the Russian-channel (RT), “the restrictions on the work of RT and Sputnik were imposed within the third package of sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia in response to its launch of a military operation in Ukraine. The European Union did not justify its decision by presenting any flaws perpetrated by the two Russian media outlets.”

Laporte wondered whether there was a legal basis within the sanctions system that would allow the broadcasting of RT and Sputnik in the entire European Union, regardless of the presence of bodies concerned with regulating their work in specific European countries.

The MP expressed her concern about the future activities of the French media operating in Russia, asking whether the European Commission has evaluated the measures that Moscow might take in response to its decision.

The European Union officially announced at the beginning of this month the ban of the two Russian channels, RT and Sputnik, in its countries, in a move that undermines Western claims to respect freedom of opinion.

Inas Abdulkareem