European Parliament – freedom of the press

New legislation to protect the press was voted through by the European Parliament Tuesday in Strasbourg. The next step is negotiations with the EU Council of Ministers. The Media Freedom Act aims to strengthen freedom of the press and media relations in the EU. “We must not turn a blind eye to the worrying state of press freedom worldwide,” said Sabine Verheyen of the conservative political group EPP ahead of the vote. The European Media Freedom Act seeks to make interference in the editorial work of the media illegal. This could be by putting pressure on journalists to reveal their sources, access their devices or target spyware at journalists or media.
     In addition to the measures to prevent outside interference, the new legislation will allow the European Parliament to publish information about ownership structure. Media, online platforms and search engines must also report remittances they receive in state aid and for state advertising. This also applies to aid from non-EU countries. With the media freedom legislation, the European Parliament will also establish an independent Media Council.
     The legislation has previously caused concern in Denmark, among others, as there were fears that the Danish public service model was exposed. However, Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt assured in May that neither it nor the Press Board’s free and independent status is in jeopardy. /ritzau/