EURACTIV - The Brief your daly wrap-up - 6 may 2026 - Ursula von der Leyen’s ‘wolf warrior‘ press brigade (Ursula von der Leyen'in basınla ilişkileri hk. eleştiri)

 

Ursula von der Leyen’s ‘wolf warrior‘ press brigade Photo by Christian Marquardt/NurPhoto via Getty Images Any veteran journalist has received this warning from a flack at some point in their career: ‘I’m not threatening you, but if you run the story…’ Before arriving in Brussels last year, I could have counted the times I received such ultimatums on one hand (and I’ve been in this line of work for over 30 years). I don’t have enough digits to keep track since then. In fact, I fielded the latest “I’m not threatening you” -threat as I was preparing this column this afternoon, concerning an article you will find on our pages tomorrow morning. Just yesterday, a Commission spokesman darkly warned my colleague Eddy Wax “I won’t forget it”, in connection with this morning’s edition of Rapporteur. We’re not so precious that we can’t handle genuine criticism of our work. When that criticism turns into threats of retribution, however, a thick red line has been crossed. Ursula von der Leyen’s press team is trying to erase that line. In addition to the threats not to publish, we’ve been subjected to frequent aggression from spokespeople, both over the phone and in person. Last fall, one of von der Leyen’s spin doctors harangued one of our reporters at the aptly named Schuman watering hole Le Coin du Diable about an article the journalist hadn’t written and had nothing to do with. We were subsequently banned for a time from Commission briefings for the same coverage. A few months later, a spokeswoman for Executive Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera became so angry over a story we did about her desire to meet fellow socialist Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York, that she began shouting down the phone. It’s no coincidence these coercive tactics emanate from the European Commission. Though von der Leyen pays lip service to the importance of a free and independent press, in practice, she exercises very tight message control. ‘Scoops’ are doled out to those who play along, while those who don’t are punished by having their access curtailed or denied. Brussels has long been a place where journalists coddle the powerful instead of holding them to account. It makes life easier. What’s more, many of the reporters here are dependent on EU subsidies and willing to trade journalistic integrity for access – to go along to get along. We are not. P.S. To the Commission flack who threatened to pull our access this afternoon: you have my answer.