Type: Acts of the European Union: European Parliament Resolution on the EU Charter: standard settings for media freedom across the EU

Authority: European Authorities - European Union: European Parliament

Date: 05/21/2013

Subject: The European Parliament stresses that the Commission should ensure that Member States guarantee proper implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in their country, as witnessed by media pluralism, equal access to information and respect for the independence of the press through neutrality; it calls on the Commission and the Member States to apply competition and media rules, to ensure competition in order to address and prevent dominant positions, possibly through setting lower competition thresholds in the media industry than in other markets, to guarantee the access of new entrants on the market, to intervene where the media are excessively concentrated and where media pluralism, independence and freedom are in danger, in order to ensure that all EU citizens have access to free and diversified media in all Member States, and to recommend improvements where needed; it calls for rules to ensure that conflicts of interest such as those resulting from the amalgamation of political office and control over media outlets are properly addressed and resolved, and, in particular, that the beneficiary owners of media conglomerates are always public so as to avoid conflicts of interest; it calls for journalists to be protected from pressures, intimidation, harassment, threats and violence, recalling that investigative journalists are often threatened and physically attacked, and even have attempts made on their lives as a result of their activities; it Stresses that the fundamental right to freedom of expression and freedom of the media is not only reserved for traditional media, but also covers social media and other forms of new media.

Classification: Freedoms - Art. 11 Freedom of information - Media - Pluralism

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