ENPA applauds parliament’s vote in the interest of press freedom in Europe

ENPA applauds parliament’s vote in the interest of press freedom in Europe ENPA highly values media pluralism in Europe and the Parliament yesterday took a very wise decision not to call for legislation on media pluralism and concentration in the EU which could in fact decrease, not increase the level of media pluralism.

The Parliament has made a sound and reasonable judgment in rejecting the motions for resolution in favour of taking a more in-depth look at the situation of freedom of information in Europe. This means that they should include all of the relevant stakeholders in a full and open debate, rather than steamrolling ahead with a call for a directive which is not going to solve the issues of freedom of information raised in the different Member States recently.

What had started as a debate on a national issue too quickly turned to proposals for illogical solutions such as a proposal for a Directive on media concentration and pluralism in a race between political opponents to win the limelight. This debate risked turning into something that could threaten the future viability of the press across Europe and increase state intervention in the organisation and content of the press. This has been avoided this time and ENPA hopes that the debate will now proceed with more understanding on what the press sector really needs from policymakers to be able to fulfil its role in democracy.

The written press on all platforms is extremely diverse and is the cornerstone of democracy in Europe to bring public authorities to account. For example, ENPA represents more than 5200 newspapers which report on the national, regional and local levels across Europe.

Valtteri Niiranen, ENPA Executive Director said: “The votes and accompanying discussions in the Parliament today have highlighted a wide variety of concerns about freedom of information in Europe which genuinely deserve debate but it is clear that there is no EU competence to regulate media pluralism further at the EU level.

ENPA is ready as always to engage in debate with all parliamentarians regarding the freedom of information in Europe. Valtteri Niiranen added: “If the Parliament wishes to openly and reasonably discuss all the different options for supporting press freedom with stakeholders, we will be there at the front of the queue ready to contribute to this debate.”

For more details, please contact Mrs. Hannah McCausland, ENPA Senior European Policy Advisor, hmccausland@enpa.be