VÖZ on the European Media Freedom Act: “Wrong way to secure press freedom”

2023-10-03 14:09:03

Don’t put functioning media systems at risk: Responsibility for media content regulation should remain with the member states

Vienna (OTS) – Today, the European Parliament cleared the way for trilogue negotiations with the Council and the EU Commission by adopting the proposal for a European Media Freedom Act. The Association of Austrian Newspapers (VÖZ) is critical of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and sees it as an interference with the free press in Europe.

“The goals of the EMFA are correct and worth supporting, as freedom of the press and media diversity are the cornerstones of our democratic society. However, media regulation via EU regulation is the wrong way to achieve this,” emphasizes VÖZ managing director Gerald Grünberger. The so-called Media Freedom Act threatens the entrepreneurial freedom of newspaper publishers through regulations on the internal workings and organization of media companies. Editorial freedom is also threatened by the Commission’s proposal – for example through interference with editorial secrecy, which would weaken the clear and strict regulations in Austria in this regard. “When it comes to editorial secrecy, after reviewing the European Parliament’s 237 amendments, we see signs of improvement to the Commission’s proposal, but we note with concern that the European Parliament is proposing to cap sales in times of economic turbulence,” said Grünberger.

In principle, responsibility for media content regulation should remain a matter for the member states, according to the VÖZ. “The conditions in Hungary and Poland are regularly cited as justification for the establishment of the Media Freedom Act. However, in the vast majority of EU member states there is no reason for such a measure, after all there is a functioning media system there. This must not be jeopardized or even undermined by the proposed standards. We therefore appeal to the negotiators at EU level in the trilogue to ensure that press freedom is maintained in accordance with Western European standards with a sense of proportion,” concludes Grünberger.