"The countries waiting to join the European Union do not score well. Despite efforts, press freedom is not securely established in Bulgaria (48th), Croatia (56th) and Romania (70th)," reads the report.
Ranked 56th, two places down from last year, Croatia is among ten countries with less than 15 years of independence which in 2005 are among the first 60 countries in terms of freedom of the press. The other nine countries are Slovenia (9th), Estonia (11th), Hungary (12th), Latvia (16th), Lithuania (21st), Namibia (25th), Bosnia-Herzegovina (33rd), Macedonia (43rd), and East Timor (58th).
"Countries that have recently won their independence or have recovered it are very observant of press freedom and give the lie to the insistence of many authoritarian leaders that democracy takes decades to establish itself," reads the report.
Serbia and Montenegro is ranked 65th.
Among EU candidates, Turkey is mentioned in a more positive context. Despite the fact that it is ranked 98th, having moved up 15 places this year, Turkey shows that freedom of the press violations are on the decline, reads the report.
The index also contradicts the frequent argument by leaders of poor and repressive countries that economic development is a vital precondition for democracy and respect for human rights, it is noted in the report.
The bottom of the index is occupied by North Korea (ranked last, 167th), Eritrea (166th) and Turkemnistan (165th).
As in 2004 the top of the list is occupied by Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, and the Netherlands (all placed 1st), where robust press freedom is firmly established.
Among the first ten countries in 2005 are also Slovakia (8th), and the Czech Republic and Slovenia (9th), while leading countries for other continents are New Zealand (12th), Trinidad and Tobago (12th), Benin (25th) and South Korea (34th).
The report also notes a slip back down the index in some western democracies, such as the USA, Canada and France.