Does Europe have a “problem” with freedom of expression?
For The Economist, freedom of expression is under threat to varying degrees across the Old Continent, which plays into the hands of populist forces. While criticizing the Trump administration, the British liberal weekly calls for inspiration from the American First Amendment.
A face whose mouth, represented by a zipper, seems about to close. The cartoon, on the cover of the British magazine The Economist on May 17, is accompanied by a headline that also gets straight to the point: “The problem of freedom of expression in Europe.”
The weekly's reflections were prompted by remarks made a little over three months ago by JD Vance. At the Munich Security Conference, the US Vice President launched into a lesson in democracy for Europeans, calling in particular for an end to cordon sanitaire surrounding extremist parties and telling his audience:
“In Britain and across Europe, freedom of expression, I fear, is in retreat.”
JD Vance made this speech a few days before the German federal elections, which saw a very strong progression of the AfD , a far-right party openly supported by Donald Trump's camp.
In the article introducing this new issue , The Economist takes care to point out that the current American administration “is a vigorous enemy of speeches that displease it, expelling students because of their political opinions, harassing critical media and intimidating universities ” .
While this makes him a "hypocrite," it doesn't prevent JD Vance from pointing out a reality, notes the liberal media: "Europeans are less and less free to say what they think."
The Economist mentions in particular Viktor Orban's Hungary, "the worst offender in the European Union" with its widespread surveillance , and Germany, whose legislation punishing insults against political leaders is said to be too repressive, and even a "parody" .
The magazine also does not spare the United Kingdom , whose police are said to be restricting freedom of expression "in a worrying manner ." It cites the arrest of a couple "who criticized their daughter's primary school."
For The Economist , legislation restricting freedom of expression, including the removal of certain online content at the request of the authorities, plays into the hands of populists, who “feed on the idea that people cannot say what they really think.” The weekly magazine assures us:
“When the law prohibits offense, it also encourages people to pretend to be offended.”
“Criminal sanctions should be as rare as they are under the First Amendment” in the United States, he notes.
In conclusion, The Economist calls on Europeans to “return to the old liberal ideas that noisy disagreement is better than enforced silence.” And to heed JD Vance’s “warning.”
The Economist (London)A major British press institution, The Economist, founded in 1843 by a Scottish hatter, is the bible for anyone interested in international news. Openly liberal, it generally advocates free trade, globalization, immigration, and cultural liberalism. It is printed in six countries, and 85% of its sales are outside the UK.
None of the articles are signed: a long-standing tradition that the weekly supports with the idea that “personality and collective voice matter more than the individual identity of journalists.”
On The Economist website, in addition to the newspaper's main articles, you'll find excellent thematic and geographical reports produced by The Economist Intelligence Unit, as well as multimedia content, blogs , and a calendar of conferences organized by the newspaper around the world. As a bonus: regular updates of the main stock market prices.
The magazine's coverage may vary between editions (UK, Europe, North America, Asia), but the content is the same; in the UK, however, a few additional pages cover national news. The Economist is 43.4% owned by the Italian Agnelli family, with the remaining stake being shared among prominent British families (Cadbury, Rothschild, Schroders, etc.) and members of the editorial staff.
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