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06 December 2022
Can European Media Freedom Act guarantee freedom for media services?
After the long-awaited European Media Freedom Act was finally released, it stirred controversy in a number of directions.
This novel set of rules to protect media pluralism and independence in the EU, among others, safeguards against political interference in editorial decisions and against surveillance, puts a focus on the independence and stable funding of public service media as well as on the transparency of media ownership and of the allocation of state advertising.
Nevertheless, the regulation has plenty of room for improvement being dubbed by our guest Ilias Konteas as Media Unfreedom Act.
Also on the topic of Media Freedom, watch NOWMORE Questions episode 3 with Renate Schroeder, Director of the European Federation of Journalists and NOWMORE Questions episode 6 with Dr Piers Robinson, from the Organisation for Propaganda Studies.
About Ilias Konteas
Ilias Konteas has held since October 2018 the position of the first joint Executive Director of the European Magazine Media Association (EMMA) and the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association (ENPA), the two largest European associations representing European press publishers. Ilias Konteas completed his legal studies at the Law School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and obtained his Master’s Degree (LL.M. EUR.- MASTER OF EUROPEAN LAW) from the Europa-Institut at the University of Saarbrucken in Germany, with a specialisation in European law, European intellectual property law and European media law. Before taking over the Executive Director role at EMMA/ENPA, he spent 16 years at BUSINESSEUROPE, the Confederation of European Business, as its Chief Intellectual Property Officer, in charge of all intellectual property issues.
About European Magazine Media Association
EMMA is a non-profit organization based in Brussels. Its mission is to promote and protect the interests of European magazine publishers vis-a-vis the Institutions of the European Union: the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council. The main aim of EMMA is to ensure a long-term survival and prosperity of a plural, diverse and economically successful magazine publishing industry in the EU.
About European Newspaper Publishers’ Association
Established in 1961 in Garmisch as the Communauté des Association d’Editeurs de Journaux du Marché Commun (the Confederation of Newspaper Publishers of the Common Market CAEJ), following the Treaty of Rome in 1957 which established the European Communities, CAEJ operated as a forum for discussion and exchange of information for European publishers, as well as meeting.
Heads of State and issuing statements on pan-European issues related to the newspaper publishing industry. In 1991 the decision was taken to establish a formal association with a permanent office in Brussels, and CAEJ was re-born as an international nonprofit trade association established under Belgian law (aisbl). In the mid-1990’s the association changed its name to ENPA – the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association. Today ENPA represents publishers of newspapers and news media in Europe, working in both the print and digital environment. Over the years, ENPA has evolved while continuing to work to achieve its core objectives: to promote the interests of the news media publishing sector towards the European institutions and to provide timely input on any legislation, policy or initiative with a direct or indirect impact on the independent press sector.