MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On Wednesday, the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution on countering Russian media outlets, such as the Sputnik news agency and the RT broadcaster. As many as 304 voted in favor the document, 179 voted against and 208 abstained. With a total of 691 officials taking part in the vote, less than half supported the resolution.
"Such an attack of the European institutions against free media – Sputnik and RT – means that the European Union… has no moral authority to be called a defender of the democratic values as well as human rights and freedoms. Brussels resorts to such repressive instruments that are used only by harshest totalitarian regimes at the moments they feel an approaching collapse," Popovic said in a statement obtained by RIA Novosti.
Sputnik responded to adoption of the resolution by calling the move a direct violation of media freedom and human rights, while Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the matter by pointing out that the document indicates a degradation of democracy in the West. Praising Sputnik and RT for their work, the president expressed hope that real media restrictions would not follow.
