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Europäisches Zentrum für Presse- und Medienfreiheit

ECPMF

The ECPMF promotes the implementation of the European Charter on Freedom of the Press in all European countries.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Marie Frenay (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová)

3 Mar 2023 · European Media Freedom Act, media freedom and plurality, events

Meeting with Marie Frenay (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová)

15 Feb 2023 · Safety of journalists, SLAPP

Meeting with Daniel Freund (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur for opinion) and European Federation of Journalists

31 Jan 2023 · European Media Freedom Act

Response to European Media Freedom Act

23 Jan 2023

ECPMF welcomes the European Commissions proposal for a European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), as it represents an important opportunity to advance media freedom and pluralism in the EU. We urge the co-legislators move ahead swiftly with the legislative process to ensure that the moment is seized during the current legislature. Additionally, ECPMF calls on the co-legislators to strengthen the Commissions proposal on these key points: 1. Protection of journalistic sources (Art. 4) According to recital 17, the protection of journalistic sources and communications needs harmonisation and further strengthening. The proposal, however, risks instead setting back this protection as it falls short of existing standards developed in the jurisprudence of the European Court for Human Rights pertaining to the principles of legality, ex-ante judicial authority, subsidiarity, legitimate aim, necessity and proportionality. To ensure that the EMFA delivers on its stated goal, Article 4 should explicitly contain the specific conditions regarding the protection of journalistic sources under Article 10 ECHR. Furthermore, the specific protection against spyware, while in principle welcome, should not have lower standards. Moreover, in addition to prohibiting surveillance by Member States, the Regulation should also include a commitment to protect journalism and journalists against surveillance by non-State actors. The scope of the prohibition should be expanded by banning opportunistic or unintended forms of surveillance. 2. Transparency of media ownership (Art. 6.1 and 6.3) ECPMF agrees with the Commission that it is crucial for the recipients of media services to know with certainty who owns and is behind the news media so that they can identify and understand potential conflicts of interest (recital 19). Hence, the proposed Regulation should be strengthened by including binding common and clear rules on the transparency of media ownership, to ensure that verifiable information regarding beneficial ownership is fully and easily accessible. 3. Media market concentration (Art. 21) The introduction of impact assessments of media mergers on plurality are a welcome step towards enhanced action against media capture by economic actors who are close to government politicians. To ensure they are effective, the provision should include an obligation for the Board, assisted by the European Commission, to issue clear guidance on public interest tests developed with input from civil society, and clearer rules on enforcement of this mechanism. National regulatory bodies responsible for media ownership monitoring should be empowered to ensure media owners fully comply with their obligation to provide information. 4. Allocation of state advertising (Art. 24) While the introduction of basic conditions for the allocation of state advertising is a step in the right direction, ECPMF considers local government of territorial entities of less than 1 million inhabitants should also be included in the scope of application. 5. Content moderation by very large online platforms (Art. 17) The inclusion of media-specific safeguards regarding content moderation is in principle welcome. However, the current proposed text leaves too much decision-making in the hands of the platforms. ECPMF urges the co-legislators to add clarity about the scope and transparent operation of the measure. 6. The European Board for Media Services (Art. 8-12) ECPMF considers the proposed European Board for Media Services lacks independence from the European Commission. It is also unclear how this Board could insulate itself from disruption by Member States that systematically attack and undermine media freedom. Accordingly, ECPMF recommends that the wording of this Section be revised to fully reflect and protect the independence of the Board and the national regulatory authorities. Furthermore, there needs to be more clarity regarding the Boards tasks, and how its Opinions will be enforced.
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Meeting with Daniel Freund (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur for opinion) and Heinrich Böll Stiftung e.V. and Reporters sans frontières

11 Oct 2022 · Presse und Medienfreiheit unter Druck in Europa

Meeting with Marie Frenay (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová) and European Federation of Journalists and

8 Sept 2022 · European Media Freedom Act

Meeting with Marie Frenay (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová)

10 Aug 2022 · European Media Freedom Act

Meeting with Marie Frenay (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová) and Reporters sans frontières and

20 Jul 2022 · European Media Freedom Act

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Vice-President) and Greenpeace European Unit and

28 Apr 2022 · SLAPP

Meeting with Marie Frenay (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová)

24 Aug 2021 · safety of journalists

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Vice-President) and Reporters sans frontières and

1 Dec 2020 · Media freedom, EDAP

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Vice-President) and Reporters sans frontières and

20 Jul 2020 · Media freedom

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Vice-President) and

19 Jun 2020 · “Media Freedom Rapid Response” project

Meeting with Marie Frenay (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová) and ARTICLE 19 and

19 Jun 2020 · Broad introduction to Media Freedom Rapid Response

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Vice-President) and

20 Apr 2020 · Freedom of press and rights of journalists