EIMP acknowledges the political agreement reached between the Council of the EU and the European Parliament on the European Media Freedom Act on 15 December 2023.
While the final legal text is still not available (expected in Q1 2024), and as we know the devil is usually in the details, EIMP does especially welcome the provisions regarding improved requirements and transparency for the allocation of state advertising, strengthened protection of editorial independence to limit state interference, and the requirement for Member States to assess the impact of media market concentrations on media pluralism and editorial independence.
Regarding the agreement on the special treatment of media content in online environments, we have our reservations on the inclusion of a 24-hour ‘stay-up’ obligation that online platforms will need to comply with according to Article 17. Again, we cannot fully comment without the complete legal text at hand, but we see a clear risk in this article creating two categories of media in Europe, as we explain in our statement from April 2023, reducing competition and media pluralism.
Finally, being a regulation, EMFA will apply directly 15 months after entry in to force. This leaves us until approximately mid-2025 before we see the impact of the new rules, provided they are properly enforced. Other new rules that overlap with EMFA, such as the Digital Services Act, will show their effectiveness between now and mid-2025, possibly rendering EMFA’s Article 17 obsolete before it even starts applying. We will be on the lookout for the EMFA final legal text and continue voicing the position of independent, innovative and digital media publishers in Europe.
About EIMP
The European Independent Media Publishers association – EIMP, is a pan-European association consisting of national associations of media publishers and individual publishers that are active in the sector of media publishing in Europe. EIMP represents innovative, independent, local and regional outlets that rely on online channels to grow and reach audiences, and promotes media pluralism and an ecosystem that fosters growth for small, independent and innovative (digital-native) media publishers. EIMP was established in 2015 when the European Commission launched its copyright reform, in order to take part in the debate and ensure the new rules support our members. EIMP represents over 1000 media outlets across Europe. Contact: secretariat@eimp.eu