EMFA European Media Freedom Act

Foto © Mario Salerno

What is the EMFA?

Under the Belgian EU presidency, a final agreement was reached on the European Media Freedom Act, commonly referred to as the EMFA. This regulation was established to protect media freedom and media pluralism as central values of the European Union and essential components of our democracy. The EMFA creates a common framework for media services in the internal market and addresses growing concerns in the EU about political influence on the media and the lack of transparency regarding media ownership. The text includes measures to prevent political interference in editorial decisions, protect journalists and their sources, and ensure media freedom and pluralism.

In addition to the high political value and substantive complexities of the dossier, the significant time pressure due to the upcoming European elections posed a major challenge as well. The administrative deadlines were set very early, in part to avoid the EMFA getting caught in a bottleneck of dossiers that needed to be completed in the final working weeks of the European Parliament. With the democratic urgency in mind and to continue the hard work of previous presidencies, our presidency team did its utmost to finalise the dossier as quickly as possible.

“We have seen over the past years various forms of pressure on the media. It is high time to act. We need to establish clear principles: no journalist should be spied on because of their job; no public media should be turned into propaganda channel. This is what we are proposing today for the first time ever: common safeguards to protect media freedom and pluralism in the EU.”

Vera Jourova Vice-president of the European Commission

Negotiations

As chair, we led the Council's negotiations with the European Parliament and the European Commission. This was a major challenge, as these often took place at the highest level, such as the technical and political trilogues attended by commissioners, MEPs, ministers, ambassadors, and top officials. The negotiations, which often went on late into the night, demonstrated the commitment of all European institutions to successfully conclude the EMFA. Our presidency team gave its all in the search for compromises and played a key role in drafting legislation that will apply to all European citizens. An achievement to be proud of!

Foto © CJM

Formal signing and publication

On April 11th, 2024, the EMFA was officially signed by the Flemish minister of Media during a ceremony at the European Parliament. The rapporteur for the EMFA from the European Parliament and the President of the European Parliament attended the ceremony as well.

On April 17th, the EMFA was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The regulation came into effect on May 7th and will be generally applicable from August 8th, 2025.

Foto © Bryan Herrezeel

“Today is a milestone for media freedom and pluralism in the EU. This new regulation will protect journalists and their sources and enable citizens to make informed decisions based on diverse and independent information.”

Benjamin Dalle Flemish minister of Media and Chair of the Council of European Ministers responsible for Media

Content of the text

The main focus of the EMFA is addressing issues that hinder the functioning of the internal market for media services to protect media pluralism and the independence of media services. This mainly involves eliminating differences in national legislations regarding editorial independence and the regulation of online pluralism and media freedom. This fragmentation affects the economic viability of media service providers and the quality of the media delivered.

To counter this, the EMFA introduces a series of new rules. For example, the regulation provides safeguards against political interference in editorial decisions and emphasises the independence and stable financing of public media, the transparency of media ownership, and the allocation of government advertising. Finally, the EMFA also addresses the issue of media concentration and establishes a new independent European board for media services, composed of national media authorities.

Implications for Flemish media regulation

The EMFA is a regulation, meaning it is directly applicable in the member states and should not be transposed into national law. For regulations, the same direct effect applies as for EU Treaties. According to the general principles of European law, this only applies when the rules are sufficiently clear, precise, and unconditional and do not require additional measures, either at the national or European level.

Therefore, it is important to align our legislation with the obligations set out in the regulation. Certain articles of the EMFA require an adjustment of our Flemish regulations. For instance, the tasks and authorities of the Flemish Regulator for the Media will be expanded, and a cooperation agreement needs to be drafted between various authorities.

Celebrating success

After the formal signing of the EMFA by the Flemish minister of Media, it was time to celebrate the hard work. The minister organised a reception at the Errerahuis. Everyone who had contributed to the new regulation over the past years was invited. Among the guests were commission staff, ambassadors from previous presidencies, and the lead rapporteur of the European Parliament.

The atmosphere was jubilant as the signing of the EMFA marked a significant contribution to the protection of media freedom, editorial independence, and democracy. Given the time pressure and momentum during which the regulation was negotiated, the final text represents the best possible compromise: a good reason to raise a glass to the achievements of recent years!