President Klaus Iohannis conveyed a message on the reopening of the Radio Free Europe Romania news service, stating that independent media is vital to the health of the society, and denigration campaigns and personal attacks on certain journalists confirm that some politicians are bothered by the freedom of speech and truth.

“The spread of erroneous articles, the launch of politically targeted media campaigns that seriously harm the public interest and the stability of the state can be stopped through the efforts of honest journalists, who are permanently in pursuit of the truth and respect their professional integrity. The existence of independent media is vital to the health of our society. One cannot imagine a free Romania in a free Europe without the most prestigious defender of democracy – free media” Iohannis states in the message, Agerpres reads.

The head of the state welcomes the reopening of the Radio Free Europe Romania news desk, emphasizing that during the communist period this has been a source of “media oxygen”.

Iohannis considers that the reopening of the radio’s Romanian language service is good news, because a healthy society is based on free media, and noting that the Radio Free Europe journalists have proved themselves to be true professionals.