Economica.net – The European law on media freedom and independence entered into force today

This new legislative act provides guarantees against political interference in editorial decisions and against surveillance of journalists. The law guarantees the easier functioning of the mass media on the domestic and online market. Also, the regulation aims to ensure the independence and stable financing of public media services, as well as transparency regarding the ownership of the media and the allocation of state advertising expenses.

“For the first time, the EU has a legislative act that protects media freedom. The EU is aware of the fact that journalists have an essential role for democracy and that they must be protected. I ask the member states to implement the new rules as soon as possible”, said the vice-president for values ​​and transparency of the European Commission, Vera Jourova.

For his part, the European commissioner for the internal market, Thierry Breton, recalled that “media companies have a vital role in our democracies, but they are facing a decrease in income, threats to the freedom and pluralism of the media – the environment and with different, non-uniform national norms”.

“Thanks to the European Media Freedom Act, media companies will benefit from common guarantees at EU level, ensuring a plurality of voices, and will be able to better take advantage of the opportunities of operating in our single market without any interference, private or public”, explained the European commissioner.

Proposed by the Commission in September 2022, this regulation establishes several measures to protect the right to media plurality, which became applicable after six months.

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