By Alexandra Brzozowski | Euractiv Est. 3min 08-02-2024 Content-Type: News News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. American conservative political commentator Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson speaks during the Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 15 July 2023. [EPA-EFE/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH] Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Print Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram The European Commission on Thursday (8 February) dismissed reports that it was considering sanctioning US right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson over his controversial interview with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. “Currently there are no discussions in the relevant EU bodies linked to this specific person,” EU lead foreign affairs spokesman, Peter Stano, told reporters in Brussels. His reaction came after US magazine Newsweek falsely claimed the bloc was mulling a travel ban and asset freezes on Carlson, a former Fox News anchor, after his sit-down interview with Putin, his first with a Western reporter since he started Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The report was based on comments made by one current and one former EU lawmaker, who called on EU member states to consider sanctions on Carlson for acting as a “mouthpiece” and “propagandist” for Putin’s regime. The remarks of the two lawmakers – former Belgian prime minister and current MEP Guy Verhofstadt, and former Spanish MEP Luis Garicano (both Renew) – who have no competence to propose or approve sanctions, were mistakenly equated with formal EU plans to target Carlson with restrictive measures. They were amplified by X owner Elon Musk, who described the allegations as “disturbing” and a move that would “greatly offend the American public”. Responding to Musk’s remarks that EU measures against Carlson would “offend” the US public, Verhofstadt shared a photo of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in a Moscow prison, saying “this is what a real journalist in Russia looks like”. The platform later added a disclaimer under Musk’s post but no community notes were added to Newsweek’s original post. Stano underlined that the bloc can blacklist “propagandists” who have “a continued track record” of information manipulation aimed at undermining the “sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine”. Sanctions, such as those on journalists and media outlets, can be proposed by EU member states, who must then “back it up with evidence” before a decision can be adopted with the unanimous support of all, he added. Sanctions on individuals and companies are designed by the EU’s diplomatic service EEAS, based on an assessment of whether they pose a threat to the EU’s security, interests or fundamental values. In the past two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the bloc has adopted twelve packages of sanctions against Russia, including travel bans and asset freezes on almost 2,000 individuals and entities, including banks, political parties and media organisations. As part of those efforts, the bloc has slapped a raft of sanctions against Kremlin-backed media organisations such as Sputnik and Russia Today, which are blocked from broadcasting across EU territory. [Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic] Read more with Euractiv Germany's Scholz calls on EU, US to send 'very clear signal' to Putin With the US still failing to unblock aid for Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed on Thursday (8 February) that both Brussels and Washington must do more to send a “very clear signal" to Russia's Vladimir Putin.
