Union of Journalists considers new law restricting access to politicians’ declarations “serious”

The Union of Journalists on Thursday considered the new law restricting access to politicians’ asset declarations to be “serious” because it conditions press freedom, hoping that it is “excessive zeal”.

“A healthy democracy only lives with free, independent journalism, with journalists who have access to documentation, and therefore what we will do is inform the government, the different political parties, that does not limit the work of the journalist, does not erect barriers to the freedom to report, that we will win, no matter what it takes,” said the president of the Union of Journalists, Luis Filipe Simões, in an interview with the Lusa news agency.

According to the newspaper Expresso, the unique declarations of income, assets, interests, incompatibilities and impediments of the members of the XXIV Government have been available for less than a month and posted on the electronic platform of the Organization for Transparency (EpT), but with restrictions, since the consultation, which can be requested by any citizen, now requires a “reasoned request”, as provided for by Law No. 52/2019, approved by an overwhelming majority in Parliament.

In the case of the media, indicating the research for a journalistic piece is not enough, because EpT sends requests for clarification, at least to journalists, asking for a broader explanation in order to understand the purpose of the consultation.

Upon hearing the news, the president of the Union of Journalists said that this was “a very delicate issue and it is serious that it is being presented as an attempt to restrict journalistic activity.”

In this context, Luis Filipe Simões proposed to clarify the new law on access to the declarations of assets of politicians, in order to understand “whether this is excessive zeal or will become practice”, and also to check with journalists whether such access has, in some way, been hindered recently.

“If access to this part has been difficult for several years, I think that in this case journalists should react and say that this is not possible in a democracy that we want to be healthy,” he said, given that the wording of the new law “clearly conditions freedom of the press.”

The journalists’ representative stressed that “in Portugal, a journalist does not have to explain why he is requesting access to documents that should be publicly available.”

“We are talking about politicians who often hold public office, and it is good that transparency is above all else, so journalistic work, which is enshrined in the Constitution, does not require explanations about the reason for access to administrative documents,” he emphasized, noting that the new law “is practically an interference in editorial policy and journalistic freedom.”

Hoping that the new legislation is merely a reflection of “excessive zeal”, Luis Filipe Simões stressed that restricting journalistic activity in this way is not the right way to go, as it represents “a backwards move when transparency is increasingly necessary”.

“I would say that it would even be good if access was broad. Journalists have a code of ethics that they must adhere to, they are obliged to inform, their work is subject to careful control. I do not think that there are any reasons for barriers to access to such documents. I believe that statements should be public, they should be public, and I believe that access to journalists should not be denied, otherwise we will contribute to an attack on the full freedom of the press, that is, in a society like ours – this is a value. First of all, we must preserve it,” he emphasized.