EU Commission,9 mln to support free media development

New funding of 9 million euros for the media in Jordan was approved by the European Commission. The support will help to establish free, independent and high quality journalism by developing training programmes and institutions for media professionals, helping to design and establish an independent regulatory body andan independent media council with a code of conduct to be developed by media and journalist organisations. ''Ensuring freedom of expression and of media - said Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy - is one of the key priorities of the joint EU-Jordan ENP Action Plan and a cornerstone of democracy''. ''The media - European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, Stefan Fule, said - played a key role in the events of the Arab Spring last year. This support shows the EU's continued commitment to make sure that the press in Jordan is as independent as possible and is of the highest possible standards. At a time of transition, the importance of civil society groups and independent media in reinforcing a democratic society is ever increasing''.