European Media Freedom Act

With the proposal for a regulation on the "European Media Freedom Act" (EMFA), the European Commission took a far-reaching step in the fall of 2022. Since then, the legislative process has progressed rapidly. While the noble goals of EMFA - securing media freedom and media pluralism in the EU - have hardly been questioned, the "how" to achieve these goals has been the subject of lively and also controversial debate. This concerned questions of EU competence law in this area, which is characterized by cultural policy aspects, but also substantive law such as questions of law enforcement in a supranational context. The diverse portfolio of issues addressed - from editorial freedom to the independence of public broadcasting to media concentration rules - continues to provide sufficient material for discussion. The panel will address the current status of the EMFA, the question of whether the challenges identified can be satisfactorily resolved, and what this means for the future.