Today, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joined 18 organisations representing public service media, journalists, media workers, civil society, as well as the cultural and creative industries in urging the EU’s trilogue negotiators to effectively protect the independence of public service media in the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).
Maja Sever, EFJ President, said: “The weakening of Article 5 is unthinkable for anyone who sincerely wants media pluralism and independent journalism in Europe. There is no place for “seeking to” or warning by distorting competition in the market. To serve the public, public service media must have a solid framework that will not be left to the efforts of national governments, as we see in many countries where public service media are under the total political control of the authorities in power.”
The broad range of co-signatories shows that the EMFA’s objective must remain clear: to strengthen and protect public service media.
Read the letter here.