14.00 – 18.00, 14 July 2016
Residence Palace, Rue de la Loi 155, Brussels
Recent scandals unearthed by investigative journalism have had a huge impact on both the public and on policy.
The fall-out from the Panama Papers influenced David Cameron’s Anti-Corruption Summit, forced the resignation of the Icelandic Prime Minister and triggered further revisions of beneficial ownership provisions in the European Anti-Money Laundering Directive. The LuxLeaks scandal has led to an unprecedented level of EU policy and legislative developments in the field of corporate tax avoidance, the tax practices of several multi-national companies being investigated by the European Commission, and the setting up of a special committee in the European Parliament.
It is clear that the media plays a vital role in exposing corruption and holding governments and the corporate world to account. And yet space for a free media is shrinking – from Budapest, Warsaw and beyond, journalism is under threat. Transparency International EU would like to invite you to our upcoming event “The Role of Investigative Journalism and a Free Media in Fighting Corruption” which will be held on 14 July at the Residence Palace.
The conference will be introduced by Elena Panfilova, Vice Chair of Transparency International and David Pegg from The Guardian, who worked on the Panama Papers investigation.
To attend this event please register in advance here: bit.ly/21i39Jd
PROGRAMME
13:00 – 14:00 Registration and light lunch
14:00 – 14:30 Opening remarks
- Elena Panfilova, Vice Chair, Transparency International
14:30 – 15:30 Investigative Journalism and Media Freedom in Fighting Corruption
- David Pegg, The Guardian
- Fabio De Masi, Member of the European Parliament
- Algirdas Lipstas, Deputy Director, Media Programme, Open Society Foundations
- Kalin Ivanov, DG HOME, European Commission
15:30 – 15:40 Presentation of the European Corruption Observatory
15:40 – 16:00 Coffee Break
16:00 – 17:00 Restrictions on Media and the Press in the European Union
- Jodie Ginsberg, Chief Executive, Index on Censorship
- Andras Petho, Founder/Editor, Direkt 36 Hungary
- Dirk Voorhoof, Executive Board Member, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom
17:00 – 18:00 Investigating Corruption
- Miranda Patrucic, Regional Editor, Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
- Kristof Clerix, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Knack Magazine
- Goele Geeraert, Journalismfund.eu
18:00 – 18:05 Closing remarks
18:05 – 19:00 Cocktail reception
SPEAKER PROFILES
Elena Panfilova – Having focused on anti-corruption and open government in Russia since 1999, Elena is now heads the TI Russia chapter and is vice chair of Transparency International.
David Pegg – David is a reporter at The Guardian, focusing on tax and offshore finance, including the Panama Papers. His award-winning team investigated leaked files from HSBC in 2015.
Fabio De Masi – Fabio has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2014. He sits on the Parliament’s Special Committee on Tax Rulings II established in the aftermath of the ‘LuxLeaks’ scandal. He is also a member of the newly created Committee of Inquiry, into tax evasion and money laundering which was set up after the Panama Papers revelations.
Algirdas Lipstas – Having worked as a journalist and editor in the Lithuanian media, Algirdas is now deputy director of the Independent Journalism programme at Open Society Foundations.
Kalin Ivanov – Kalin works on anti-corruption measures for the European Commission’s Migration and Home Affairs Department (DG HOME).
Jodie Ginsberg – A former Reuters Bureau Chief, Jodie worked for more than a decade as a foreign correspondent and business journalist. Jodie now works for Index on Censorship.
Andras Petho – Having previously been a data investigator for the Washington Post, Andras now investigates political corruption in Hungary, including the ICIJ’s Panama Papers Project.
Dirk Voorhoof – Dirk holds Master degrees in Law (1979) and Communication Sciences (1980), and a PhD in Law in 1990 from the Ghent University. He served as a professor at Ghent University from 1992 to 2016, lectured at the University of Oxford from 2002 to 2007 and has been teaching European Media Law at Copenhagen University since 2004. Dirk reports on developments regarding freedom of expression, media and journalism, and sits on a number of expert committees, including at the Council of Europe.
Miranda Patrucic – Based in Sarajevo, award-winning Miranda has exposed many corruption scandals in Central Asia, the Balkans and the Caucasus. She also trains journalists in investigative skills.
Kristof Clerix – A prize-winning investigative journalist, Kristof’s reporting work focuses on Eastern Europe and security. He has also worked with ICIJ on SwissLeaks and LuxLeaks.
Goele Geeraert – Goele works for Journalismfund.eu, which supports in-depth cross-border journalism in Europe and beyond.
This project is implemented in partnership with:
