In a speech delivered to the European Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education on Monday (19 April), the EU Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton raised for the first time a proposal for a European Media Freedom Act.
A Hungarian radio station critical of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that was forced off the air in February said Sunday (11 April) its former frequency had been handed to a station owned by a government-friendly group.
A famous Greek journalist covering police-related issues was assassinated on Friday in a mafia-style cold-blooded execution in front of his house, causing shock in Greek society.
Alphabet unit Google will contribute 25 million euros to the newly set up European Media and Information Fund to combat fake news, the company said on Wednesday (31 March), amid criticism tech giants are not doing enough to debunk online disinformation.
The state of Hungary’s media has become the focus of intense public debate at home and across Europe after the national Media Council, run exclusively by people from the ruling Fidesz party, revoked the opposition Klubrádió’s frequency in February. EURACTIV's media partner Telex takes stock of the country's media landscape.
Europe's top human rights body on Tuesday (16 March) voiced concern over two draft media laws in Poland and warned about the possible "suffocation of independent media outlets".
Next to the rule of law dilemma, growing assaults on media freedom are posing another test for the EU’s resolve and unity. The question is whether yet another ‘toolbox’ can solve the problem. Do you remember the then European Commissioner...
On 3 March 2021, the Media4Europe Summit gathered 200 media professionals, key policymakers and publishers, around the theme “Towards a healthy news media sector?”. The event was also the official launch of the second edition of the Stars4Media innovation exchange...
EU initiatives from last December may help renew the news media sector, if implemented fast and jointly. In an open letter, Christoph Leclercq, Marc Sundermann and Paolo Cesarini call for leadership from Berlin, Paris and the Council, and from the press leaders themselves.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Wednesday (10 March) published 10 recommendations to address what they called “the dire press freedom situation in Bulgaria”, ahead of elections early next month.
The case of two female Belarussian journalists jailed in February for reporting about protests in Minsk once again highlighted the severity of the government's crackdown on news media in the former Soviet republic.
Hungary's media authority has initiated proceedings against RTL Hungary media group for broadcasting an advert aimed at boosting acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender queer and intersexual (LGBTQI) families.
The European Commission is set to implement an action plan to support Europe’s media sector, which is facing an economic crisis, Vera Jourova, Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency told a EURACTIV event on Wednesday (3 March). “Strengthening media freedom...
Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle has begun producing material in Hungarian for the first time in decades, driven by concerns at declining media plurality and press freedom in the fellow European Union member.
One of three men accused of the 2017 assassination of Maltese anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia pleaded guilty Tuesday (23 February), a major development in a case that has rocked the Mediterranean island nation.
Brussels on Thursday (18 February) condemned Slovenia's prime minister for online personal attacks against journalists reporting on the deterioration of rule of law in his country, which will take on the rotating EU presidency in July.
News Corp struck a global news deal with Alphabet Inc’s Google, the Rupert Murdoch-controlled media company said on Wednesday (17 February), in one of the most extensive deals of its kind with big tech.
A range of private media outlets went off the air in Poland on Wednesday (10 February), running blank pages and slogans such as "this used to be your favourite programme," in protest against a proposed media advertising tax they say threatens journalistic independence and diversity.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has developed an unhealthy habit of avoiding press questions in public and carefully dosing her words to European media, while being seemingly omnipresent in a selected few, mostly German, publications. After refusing to...
The stunning events in Washington on January 6th not only showed the fragility of modern democracies but also demonstrated the untamed power of Big Tech, writes Marc Sundermann, Paolo Cesarini and Christophe Leclercq.
United Group, a leading multi-play telecoms and media provider in South-East Europe, has bought a large chunk of the Bulgarian media, as its latest acquisition was cleared by the country’s anti-cartel body on Monday (18 January).
The Slovenian government said on Thursday (14 January) it had restored the financing of national news agency STA after Brussels warned against any attempt to pressure public media outlets.
Behind the corporate battle for French media company Lagardère, there’s a political tug-of-war involving the country’s richest man, a media magnate and President Emmanuel Macron.
Vivendi’s pay-TV arm Canal+ won on Wednesday its court fight against a deal between EU competition regulators and Paramount Pictures in which the U.S. studio agreed to scrap movie-licensing deals with British pay-TV group Sky UK.
