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International Press Institute

IPI

The International Press Institute (IPI) is a global network of editors, journalists and media executives who share a common dedication to quality, independent journalism.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Gesine Heinrich (Cabinet of Commissioner Marta Kos), Marko Makovec (Cabinet of Commissioner Marta Kos) and

11 Nov 2025 · Meeting with media organisations on media freedom in Serbia.

Meeting with Sophie Wilmès (Member of the European Parliament)

13 Mar 2025 · Indépendance des médias

Meeting with Veerle Nuyts (Cabinet of Commissioner Marta Kos) and European Federation of Journalists and Committee to Protect Journalists

6 Mar 2025 · Exchange on the 2024 annual report of the Council of Europe Journalist Safety Platform

Meeting with Anna Herold (Head of Unit Communications Networks, Content and Technology) and Reporters sans frontières and

22 Jan 2025 · Exchange of views in the context of preparatory work on draft guidelines on Article 18(1) European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) to be issued by the European Commission under Article 18(9) of the EMFA. Anna Herold was replaced by Audrius Perkauskas

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

17 Apr 2023 · European Media Freedom Act (staff-level)

Meeting with Irena Joveva (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

22 Mar 2023 · European Media Freedom Act

Meeting with Petra Kammerevert (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Google and

9 Mar 2023 · Media Freedom Act

Response to European Media Freedom Act

23 Jan 2023

Position of the International Press Institute (IPI) on the European Media Freedom Act Submitted as part of the European Commissions Public Consultation on January 23, 2023 Introduction The International Press Institute welcomes the proposal for the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) as a crucial move to address serious threats to media freedom and pluralism in the European Union. IPI is one of the worlds oldest media freedom organizations. A network of senior editors and journalists, IPI has campaigned for media freedom, independent journalism, and high media standards since 1950. Media Capture IPI and its European members are particularly focused on how the EMFA can effectively counter the threat of media capture, a system of media control that has become entrenched in countries such as Hungary and whose elements are being replicated in other countries across the EU. The failure to address media capture and the broader rule of law crisis in Hungary has encouraged other illiberal-minded governments to take advantage of weak regulatory frameworks for protecting journalists freedoms and abuse the powers of government to establish control over public and private media. In recent years the European Commission has come to recognize the gravity of the threat media capture poses to European democracy and we welcome the Media Freedom Act as a sincere effort to respond to new forms of restricting independent journalism in Europe with a balanced regulatory approach that protects media and journalists. The success of the EMFA will be measured, in part, by the extent to which its ambitions can be backed up by sufficiently concrete tools to stem the forces of media capture. In order to do so, the law should address the key mechanisms of media capture that IPIs monitoring and research have identified including: - Turning public broadcasters into government propaganda - Capturing and instrumentalising media regulatory bodies with political appointees - Abusing state resources, including state advertising funds, to distort the media market in favour of pro-government media - Creating a circle of loyal oligarchs to run private media in the governments interest. With this in mind IPI: - Broadly welcomes Article 5, which aims to safeguard the independent functioning of public service media. - Calls for stronger regulation to provide similar safeguards for the independence of National Regulatory Authorities - Welcomes efforts to improve transparency of media ownership and to increase protections for media pluralism and editorial independence. - Welcomes efforts to end the abuse of state advertising to distort the media market and reward loyal coverage while also calling for these terms to be expanded to include all forms of state subsidy - And lastly calls for the EMFA to close the back-door funding of media oligarchs who are rewarded for their medias loyalty to government through public contracts to sister companies operating in other industries. Addressing the abuse of state regulatory and economic powers as a key driver of media capture will help level the economic playing field for independent media, boosting their sustainability, while also improving the overall economic and investment climate for quality journalism across the EU. This will fulfill key demands of the media industry and enhance the operation of the EUs single market by improving the climate for local and cross-border watchdog journalism that exposes corruption and abuse of power in the public interest.
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Meeting with Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and Amnesty International Limited and

7 Sept 2022 · Situation in Hungary

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

20 Jul 2022 · European Media Freedom Act

Meeting with Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and Reporters sans frontières and

24 Mar 2022 · Situation in Hungary

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

26 Apr 2021 · Media freedom and media pluralism

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

1 Dec 2020 · Media freedom, EDAP

Meeting with Margrethe Vestager (Executive Vice-President) and Committee to Protect Journalists and Global Forum for Media Development

29 Oct 2020 · State Aid in Hungary

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