Jourová: taxpayer money should not distort media landscape

Taxpayer money should not distort the media landscape, said European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová.

The recent proposal for Media Freedom Act was debated on Thursday in a roundtable event together with Jourová whom MEP David Casa welcomed to discuss better media pluralism protection, editorial independence and journalistic freedom.

Casa said Media Freedom Act is an essential forward step forward toward protecting the press, in Malta and in Europe. The Nationalist MEP recalled how together with his colleagues he has been long calling for this reform.

“The press in Europe is at risk everywhere,” Casa explained, referring to the results of the 2022 Media Pluralism Monitor. “Malta was deemed to be at high risk for editorial independence and political interference. It is not a healthy situation for our press or our democracy.”

Jourová talked about how Daphne Caruana Galizia’s memorial service in Bidnija, inspired her to work on a legislation which protects the European press.

Here Vice-President Jourová was referring to “Daphne’s Law”,  a directive to combat strategic lawsuits against public participation across Europe, presented in April.

The Media Freedom Act succeeded in this directive, to enforce press protection in Europe.

Present for this debate were also academics, journalists, and MEPs, who all advocate for more transparency and a more harmonised internal market for the media.