Press release
Minister Martin meets with European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, this afternoon met with European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová during her visit to Dublin.
The Minister and Vice-President Jourová discussed the European Commission’s proposal for a European Media Freedom Act. The proposal seeks to strengthen protections for media pluralism and media independence in the EU.
Speaking today Minister Martin said:
“I was delighted to welcome Vice-President Jourová today during her visit to Dublin and to have the opportunity to discuss the European Commission’s important proposal for a European Media Freedom Act. A free and independent media is a pillar of democratic society and is essential to ensure healthy public debate.
“The proposal for a European Media Freedom Act is particularly timely in light of the challenges the media sector in Europe has faced in recent years. Ireland supports efforts to strengthen media freedom and diversity and we look forward to engaging with our EU colleagues during negotiations on the detail of the proposal in the coming months.”
The proposal for a European Media Freedom Act was published by the European Commission on 16 September 2022. The aim of the European Media Freedom Act is to protect media pluralism and independence in the EU. The proposed Regulation includes, among others, safeguards against political interference in editorial decisions and against surveillance of journalists. It puts a focus on the independence of public service media as well as on the transparency of media ownership and the allocation of state advertising. The Act will also address the issue of media concentrations and create a new independent European Board for Media Services, comprised of national regulatory authorities. The Commission’s proposal will now be negotiated by the European Parliament and Council under the ordinary legislative procedure.