Minister Asselborn Reaffirms Support for Independent Press during Estonia Visit

On Wednesday 9 February 2022, Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, paid a working visit to Estonia.

In Tallinn, Minister Asselborn was received by his counterpart, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia, Eva-Maria Liimets, for a working meeting which allowed for an exchange of views on bilateral relations as well as the main European and international current issues.

The bilateral meeting with the Estonian minister was an opportunity to look into bilateral relations between Luxembourg and Estonia as well as ways to strengthen them. In this context, the ministers notably discussed cooperation in the areas of information technology, green transformation and cybersecurity. In particular, Estonia maintains a “data embassy” in Luxembourg, which was a world first in the safeguarding and storage of data from one state to another partner state.

The good cooperation between the Benelux countries, whose presidency in 2022 is held by Luxembourg, and the Baltic countries was also mentioned, particularly with regard to free movement and cross-border communities. Close consultations between the Baltic countries and the Benelux countries will be continued under Luxembourg's Benelux presidency, including at ministerial level.

Finally, the two parties also discussed their close cooperation in European matters, in particular by discussing migration issues, the situation relating to the rule of law within the European Union (EU) and the Schengen reform. Likewise, the two ministers discussed their cooperation within NATO and the latest developments on the border between Ukraine and Russia and the ongoing European and international efforts to avoid an escalation of the situation.

In Tallinn, Minister Asselborn also took part in the third Global Conference for Media Freedom, which was dedicated to the fight against disinformation and freedom of expression, to the protection of journalists and the links between media freedom and internet freedom.

In his speech, Minister Asselborn reaffirmed Luxembourg's unfailing support for an independent press, the protection of journalists, and in particular women journalists, as well as their right to work in a safe and free environment.

Luxembourg considers that freedom of the press is a key element of democratic societies and plays an essential role in the defense of human rights and fundamental rights. Minister Asselborn also returned to the new challenges posed by technological developments, recalling that media professionals are increasingly targets of online threats. In this context, he notably recalled Luxembourg's support for OSCE and UNESCO programmes aimed at strengthening the protection of women journalists.

Minister Asselborn concluded by regretting that respect for freedom of the press has meanwhile also become a subject of concern within the European Union. “We have made a commitment around this table to jointly promote freedom of the press abroad, but also in our own countries. We must also take this internal dimension seriously in order to maintain our credibility in this area,” insisted Minister Asselborn.

On the sidelines of this ministerial meeting, Minister Asselborn had a bilateral meeting with Uzra Zeya, United States Under-Secretary of State for Civil Security, Democracy and Human Rights. The exchange notably made it possible to address the priorities of the United States and Luxembourg during their mandates within the Human Rights Council as well as the broader cooperation between the two countries in the areas of human rights and democracy.

The Minister also took part in a ministerial dinner hosted by his Estonian counterpart in the presence of the President of the Republic of Estonia, Alar Karis.