The Federal Association of German Newspaper Publishers (BDVZ) has warned against "damage to the sensitive good that is the freedom of the press" in Germany. The "series of preliminary proceedings launched of late against journalists for allegedly aiding and abetting the betrayal of secrets" pointed to a "highly questionable interpretation of freedom of the press," Helmut Heinen, the president of the association, said on Monday in Strasbourg. Mr. Heinen was opening the BDZV Congress 2007 in the European Parliament. Valdo Lehari, the President of the European Newspaper Publisher Association (ENAP) and managing director of the southern German daily Reutlinger Generalanzeiger, said freedom of the press tended to flourish when it was left in peace and not subjected to intervention by the state.
Mr. Heinen called on politicians and investigating authorities to show "greater sensitivity" when dealing with the press. "We need clear legal rules that ensure that the publication of certain texts is no longer judged to be tantamount to aiding and abetting the betrayal of secrets," he declared. He sharply criticized the draft proposals submitted by German legislators on the monitoring of telecommunications and the retention of telecommunications data that are currently being debated; "we consider the two proposed items of legislation unacceptable," he declared.
On the topic of the opportunities of and dangers to freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Europe Mr. Lehari came out strongly in favor of national solutions "away from Brussels." Independent newspapers were part of the cultural diversity of Europe, which had to be protected, he said during a panel discussion. For health reasons the prime minister of Luxembourg Jean-Claude Juncker was unable to give a speech on the occasion of the opening of the congress.
