Ahead of the vote on 3 October, associations from both commercial and public media called on all MEPs and political groups to support the CULT compromise package on the European Media Freedom Act during the plenary vote and to refrain from supporting amendments that are not part of the CULT compromise package, and particularly from reducing the scope of protections or from creating new, potentially disproportionate, obligations for media service providers.
Read the full joint statement below.
BRUSSELS, 2 OCTOBER 2023.
On 3 October, the European Parliament will vote on its position on the European Media Freedom Act. Ahead of the vote, the undersigned associations representing all actors in the media sector, both commercial and public media, ranging from press and radio to audiovisual media, would like to thank the rapporteur and shadows from the leading Culture and Education Committee (CULT) as well as from the associated LIBE and IMCO committees for all their work on this file.
Whilst we would have hoped for more ambition on several issues, including on the protection of journalists and their sources, and some of us might have concerns, we understand that the text on the table is the result of difficult compromises. We therefore encourage all MEPs and political groups to support the CULT compromise package during the plenary vote.
Moreover, we call on MEPs to refrain from supporting amendments that are not part of the CULT compromise package, and particularly from reducing the scope of protections or from creating new, potentially disproportionate, obligations for media service providers. In particular, we would strongly oppose the last-minute introduction of far-reaching articles in relation to media mergers, as proposed in amendments 330 and 331, or changes that would undermine existing compromises regarding the power of global online platforms to arbitrarily remove editorial content, as proposed in amendments 315, 319, 324 and 327.
The media landscape has evolved into a complex, multi-sided digital market, where media face fierce competition from global online platforms for audience, advertising, and data. The EMFA must ensure that Europe’s media is independent and sustainable rather than further cement regulatory and market asymmetries between media and big tech. We hope you can support us in this important vote and trust in your commitment to further improve the text during the trilogue negotiation.
ACT – Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe
AER – Association of European Radios
EBU – European Broadcasting Union
EGTA – Association of Television and Radio Sales Houses
EMMA – European Magazine Media Association
ENPA – European Newspaper Publishers’ Association
EPC – European Publishers Council
NME – News Media Europe
AKTV – Asociace Komerčních Televizí
ARCA – Asociatia Română de Comunicaţii Audiovizuale
CRTV – Cofindustria Radio Televisioni
UTECA – Unión Televisiones Comerciales En Abierto
VÖP – Verband Österreichischer Privatsender
VAUNET – Verband Privater Medien
Download the PDF here
For more information, please contact the AER office in Brussels at aer(Replace this parenthesis with the @ sign)aereurope.org.