European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) adopted by EU co-legislators
13 March 2024
Following the provisional agreement the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) concluded on 15 December 2023 between the Council and the European Parliament, Member States approved the deal in Coreper mid-January, and the EU Parliament passed it with 464 votes in favour, 92 against, and 65 abstentions in a vote on 13 March.
The EMFA negotiation had raised concerns within the European audiovisual sector, particularly its Article 20 (and corresponding Recital 38, 39) which stated that Member States may not take measures that affect “internal market for media services” unless they are proportionate and justified.
This approach risked generating significant legal uncertainty for audiovisual cultural policies at national level, as it opened the possibility for media service providers to unilaterally challenge their implementation. The creative and audiovisual sectors mobilised in June 2023 to raise awareness on the risks entailed by the Commission’s proposal in an Open Letter, co-signed by 73 European and national organisations including FERA.
FERA welcomes the restriction of Article 20 to measures liable to affect media pluralism and the editorial independence of media service providers in the agreement approved by co-legislators, and the clarification in recital 38 that the provision “does not aim to affect national measures implementing Directive 2010/13/EU, in so far as they do not affect media pluralism and editorial independence, national measures taken pursuant to Article 167 TFEU, national measures taken for the purpose of promoting European works or national measures which are otherwise governed by State aid rules.”
The regulation will soon be signed, published in the EU’s Official Journal and enter into force 20 days later.
To go further:
– The European Media Freedom Act text agreed
– EU Parliament press release
– Council press release