Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The European Parliament is placed to honour outstanding investigative journalism with the prestigious Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism 2024.
The award ceremony, planned for Wednesday, 23 October 2024, at 6 pm, will take place in the Daphne Caruana Galizia Press Room at the EU Parliament in Strasbourg. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola will extend the ceremony, highlighting the institution’s commitment to press freedom and investigative journalism. The event will feature addresses by key figures, including Vice-President Pina Picierno and Juliane Hielscher, President of the Berlin Press Club and jury representative.
The winner, selected from among 13 finalists, will be notified by representatives of last year’s laureates—a Greek, German, and British consortium identified for their investigation into the Adriana shipwreck tragedy off Pylos, Greece, which argued over 600 migrant lives.
What are the key themes of this year’s nominees?
This year’s candidates represent a mixed range of investigative journalism from across the European Union. Their works cover essential topics such as climate change, Russian influence, drug negotiations, waste management, child exploitation, and the dilemma of migrant children.
Entries contain an investigation into EU-funded security forces in Senegal by Andrei Popoviciu and Jose Bautista and a probe into the vanishing of over 50,000 unaccompanied migrant children in Europe by a team directed by Geesje van Haren.
Before the award ceremony, a press conference titled “Safeguarding Media Freedom: The Role of the European Union” will be held. Beginning at 3 pm in room Weiss S2.2, the seminar will feature a panel of journalists concerning ongoing threats to media and press freedom. Matthew Caruana Galizia, son of Daphne Caruana Galizia, will produce a closing speech alongside Vice-President Picierno.
The Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize, which incorporates a €20,000 award, is open to professional journalists and crews of any nationality whose work has been published or broadcast by EU-based media outlets. It seeks to promote and support core EU principles such as human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and human rights.
How does the European Parliament support investigative journalism?
The European Parliament has been vocal in its backing for investigative journalism and has taken steps to safeguard journalists across the EU. Recent initiatives include new management to tackle malicious litigation against critical voices, agreed in February 2024, and the European Media Freedom Act, given the green light in March.
