The media is a key pillar in the checks and balances that underpin democratic rule. That’s why the descent into authoritarian rule often starts with independent media being targeted. Over the last few decades, a number of states across the globe have taken this path, using coercion and often violence to persecute media outlets and individual journalists.
Independent media services play unique role in the internal market. They represent a fastchanging and economically important sector and at the same time provide access to a plurality of views and reliable sources of information to citizens and businesses alike, thereby fulfilling the general interest function of ‘public watchdog’ and constituting an indispensable factor in the process of the formation of public opinion.
Media services are increasingly available online and across borders while they are not subject to the same rules and the same level of protection in different Member States. While some matters related to the audiovisual media sector have been harmonised at the Union level through Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council , the scope and matters covered by that Directive are limited. Moreover, the radio or press sectors are not covered by that Directive, despite their increasing cross-border relevance in the internal market.
That is why member states’ EU ambassadors endorsed the provisional agreement reached on 15 December 2023 between the Council and the European Parliament’s negotiators on a new law to establish a common framework for media services in the EU internal market and to safeguard media freedom, media pluralism and editorial independence in the EU.
Even in the EU, media freedom and pluralism have to be safeguarded. They are one of the four pillars addressed in the European Commission’s rule of law report, which focuses on a number of core areas, including:
- independence of the media regulatory authorities
- transparency of media ownership
- transparency and fairness in the allocation of state advertising
- safety of journalists and access to information
The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) will establish a common framework for media services in the EU’s internal market and introduce measures aimed at protecting journalists and media providers from political interference, while also making it easier for them to operate across the EU’s internal borders. The new rules will guarantee the right of citizens to access free and plural information and define the responsibility of Member States to provide the appropriate conditions and framework to protect it.
