Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), EU member states have adopted a new law that aims to safeguard media freedom, media pluralism, and editorial independence in the EU.
The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) will establish a common framework for media services in the EU’s internal market.
It will 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, according to the commission, 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.
Reacting, Sabine Verheyen, a German EPP member, said, “The significance of media plurality for a functioning democracy cannot be stressed enough.”
She is a rapporteur from the Culture and Education Committee and added, “Press freedom is threatened worldwide, including in Europe: the murder in Malta, threats to press freedom in Hungary, and many other examples prove that.
“The European Media Freedom Act is our answer to this threat and a milestone in European legislation. It values and protects the double role of media as businesses and as guardians of democracy”, she concluded.
Ramona Strugariu, a Romanian Renew MEP and the rapporteur from the Civil Liberties Committee said: “Journalists now have an ally, a set of tools that protects them, boosts their independence, and helps them face challenges, interference, and the pressure that they are often confronted with in their job.”
“This Regulation is a response to Orbán, Fico, Janša, Putin, and those who want to transform media into their propaganda tools or spread fake news and destabilize our democracies. No journalist should ever fear pressure of any sort when doing their job and informing citizens.”
Also commenting on the move, Benjamin Dalle, Flemish Minister for Brussels Affairs, Youth, Media, and Poverty Reduction, said, “An independent media is a vital element of any free and democratic society.
“Today’s adoption demonstrates the EU’s continuing commitment to protecting journalists and safeguarding media freedom and pluralism.”
