Freedom of speech is being more and more under attack. Here is the case of a ruling done by the European Court of Justice last march that demonstrates this tendency.

Last march the European Court of Justice ruled that the European Union (EU) could lawfully suppress political criticism of its institutions and leading figures. This shows once again that the authorities are doing everything to shut done any kind of criticism and clearfully attacks all notions of civil liberties in democratic societies. Here is the text written by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard:

Euro-court outlaws criticism of EU
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in Brussels

THE European Court of Justice ruled yesterday that the European Union can lawfully suppress political criticism of its institutions and of leading figures, sweeping aside English Common Law and 50 years of European precedents on civil liberties.
The EU's top court found that the European Commission was entitled to sack Bernard Connolly, a British economist dismissed in 1995 for writing a critique of European monetary integration entitled The Rotten Heart of Europe.
The ruling stated that the commission could restrict dissent in order to "protect the rights of others" and punish individuals who "damaged the institution's image and reputation". The case has wider implications for free speech that could extend to EU citizens who do not work for the Brussels bureaucracy.
The court called the Connolly book "aggressive, derogatory and insulting", taking particular umbrage at the author's suggestion that Economic and Monetary Union was a threat to democracy, freedom and "ultimately peace".
However, it dropped an argument put forward three months ago by the advocate-general, Damaso Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, which implied that Mr Connolly's criticism of the EU was akin to extreme blasphemy, and therefore not protected speech.
Mr Connolly, who has been told to pay the European Commission's legal costs, said the proceedings did not amount to a fair hearing. He said: "We're back to the Star Chamber and Acts of Attainder: the rights of defendants are not respected or guaranteed in any way; the offence of seditious libel has been resurrected."
Mr Colomer wrote in his opinion last November that a landmark British case on free speech had "no foundation or relevance" in European law, suggesting that the European Court was unwilling to give much consideration to British legal tradition.
Mr Connolly now intends to take his case to Europe's other court, the non-EU European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
11 November 2000: Eurofile: Defenders of free speech thrown off the scent
16 September 2000: Eurofile: Our weekly digest of the workings of the European project
12 October 1999: Whistleblower faces discipline over EU book
18 July 1999: Santer faces British court over sacking
21 May 1999: EC critic's dismissal was 'fair'
5 September 1995: Official in ERM row may lose job
5 September 1995: Profile: The maverick who shook Brussels
5 September 1995: 'If Britain says no, it could save the whole of Europe'

Source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001851641145319&rtmo=3SSxHwYM&atmo=9999...