The European Parliament adopted the so-called Media Freedom Act (EMFA) on Tuesday, October 3rd, by 448 votes in favour, 102 against, and 75 abstentions. While the law is allegedly intended to protect the freedom of the media and democracy in the EU’s member states, critics say it is another attack on the conservative, sovereigntist governments of Hungary and Poland.
As we previously reported, the EMFA was proposed by the European Commission last year with the aim of promoting a more pluralistic, transparent, and fair media landscape in Europe. The left-liberal majority of the Parliament claims it wants to ban all forms of interference in the editorial decisions of media outlets and prevent external pressure being exerted on journalists, such as forcing them to disclose their sources or targeting them with spyware.
The law would oblige all media to publish information on their ownership structure and the funds they receive from state advertising. The EP also wants to put a cap on public advertising allocated to a single media provider to ensure media outlets do not become dependent on state advertising. The law will also create a central regulatory agency to monitor the implementation and upholding of the new rules.
Hungary and Poland have been accused by Western liberals of turning state-controlled media into propaganda outlets for the government. They also claim that the state creates an unequal playing field by disproportionately funding pro-government private media.
The fact that the European Parliament is not overly interested in protecting media freedom in all the EU member states but predominantly wishes to intervene in Hungary and Poland’s media markets was made clear by MEPs who took part in Tuesday’s debate.
Slovenian liberal Irena Joveva said the media is being used as a political tool in Hungary and Poland. Catalan Green politician Diana Riba i Giner said: “When we read the news coming from Poland, Hungary, and Italy, we know that democracy is fragile.” German Green MEP Daniel Freund—a regular critic of the Budapest government—baselessly claimed there is no free radio or TV in Hungary and that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has “complete control over the media.”
In fact, the Hungarian media market is balanced, with 6 million Hungarians getting their news from pro-government media outlets and 6.4 million from government-critical outlets, according to a report by Hungarian think tank Nézőpont Intézet. This means that very few citizens choose only one source of information. The report goes on to say that the number of government-critical outlets has increased from 34 to 52 since Orbán came into power in 2010. As pro-government conservative news website Mandiner recently stated, the real aim of the EP is not the promotion of objective reporting but rather “turning down the volume” of conservative governments.
European Commission Vice President Vera Jourová has not shied away, either, from naming her real intentions, previously saying that “the Media Freedom Act might have an influence on the behaviour of member states, including Hungary.” In the debate on Tuesday, she did not explicitly name any countries but stated that public media should not become the propaganda tool of one party.
Conservative and right-wing MEPs harshly criticised the proposed plans, with Elżbieta Kruk of the Polish governing party PiS saying that the Commission is infringing member states’ national sovereignty. Catherine Griset of the French National Rally warned of another “power grab,” with the Commission taking over key national competencies.
The European Parliament will now start negotiations with the European Council (the governments of member states) on the final shape of the law, which could be finalised by the end of the year. The ambassadors of EU countries already agreed on accepting the proposal in their meeting in June, with Hungary and Poland voting against it.
