The MPs approved the law by a majority at the EU Parliament meeting in Strasbourg. 464 MPs voted for the regulation, with 92 voting against and 65 abstentions. The rapporteur Sabine Verheyen (CDU) spoke of a “milestone for the protection of media diversity”.
The EU Commission proposed the 2022 law to strengthen the plurality and independence of media. Brussels sees press freedom under threat, especially in Hungary; the same applied to Poland until the election of Prime Minister Donald Tusk in October.
According to the law, governments are not allowed to intervene in editorial decisions. In addition, authorities should be prohibited from forcing journalists and editors to disclose their sources, for example through office searches or detention. There are high hurdles to using spy software like Pegasus. A court order will be required for this in the future.
Media council should prevent excessive concentration
A new European Media Council will be created. The committee made up of representatives from the member states is intended, among other things, to prevent excessive concentration in the industry. In the future, media companies will also have to disclose their ownership structure. The same applies to public financial sources, including those from non-European countries.
Appeared as rapporteur in the EU Parliament: CDU politician Sabine Verheyen (archive photo)Image: Attila Kisbedek/AFP/Getty Images
The organization Reporters Without Borders said the EU was taking an “important step for the right to information” with the law. The European umbrella associations of newspaper and magazine publishers, on the other hand, see a “media freedom law” with excessively strict requirements. German publishers and public broadcasters had also warned Brussels against over-regulation.
“A corset that endangers freedom of the press”
The Federal Association of Digital Publishers and Newspaper Publishers (BDZV) and the Media Association of the Free Press (MVFP) told the German Press Agency that the passage of the law “unfortunately offers no cause for celebration.” While the press is struggling with “economic, regulatory and competitive challenges,” the EU is “putting together a corset that does not address any of the problems and instead endangers freedom of the press.”
The member states still have to formally seal the law. After publication in the EU Official Journal, it will then take effect in the 27 EU countries.
gri/ie (afp, dpa)