AER Roundtable kindly hosted by MEP Sunčana Glavak (EPP, HR)
4 November 2025 | 12:00-14:00
Members Salon, European Parliament, Brussels
Radio plays a vital role in Europe’s media ecosystem: it provides trusted and quality-checked information, supports local communities, and delivers lifesaving updates during crises. Yet, despite its societal importance, the sector is financially fragile. Declining advertising revenues, driven by the growing dominance of global digital platforms, intensified online competition, and mounting regulatory burdens, pose a significant threat to its sustainability.
As radio continues to adapt to the digital age, global platforms increasingly act as gatekeepers, particularly in connected cars and connected devices, limiting accessibility and prominence of reliable radio content. This trend is especially worrying given that radio remains the most trusted medium across Europe.
The discussion will explore how EU initiatives, including the European Media Freedom Act (Article 20), the Digital Markets Act, the European Electronic Communications Code and the forthcoming Digital Networks Act, as well as the European Democracy Shield, can help safeguarding radio’s role in the digital age.
Participants will reflect on how to protect radio’s visibility on digital platforms and car dashboards, ensure fair competition with big tech platforms, and strengthen media resilience and freedom of expression. The discussion will highlight radio’s unique contribution to democratic resilience, media literacy, civic engagement and trusted communication during emergencies.