Anne Berner: “We can do more for freedom of the press”

The Nordic Council of Ministers has an active presence as a co-organiser of four seminars. The Nordic Council of Ministers is also hosting an exhibition under the banner “250 years of freedom of the press” to mark the 250th anniversary of the world’s first legislation on freedom of the press in Sweden and Finland in 1766.

Finnish Minister for Transport and Communications Anne Berner, who this year chairs the ministers for Nordic co-operation, visited the exhibition and commented on the global press freedom ranking, which is currently topped by Finland and closely followed by its Nordic neighbours.

However, Berner also pointed out that politicians have a responsibility for safeguarding freedom of expression and freedom of the press:

“Firstly, we must make sure that our legislation is kept up to date, that we enforce this in the new environment of social media, and take this into account in future legislative initiatives. We must also serve as role models for society and respect freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and take a clear stand as to where the boundaries and limitations lie,” Berner said.

The UN agency UNESCO is the main organiser of World Press Freedom Day, which has been held since 3 May 1994. This is the first time that the main conference is being held in the Nordic Region.

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