In a resolution adopted last week by 52 votes to five, with seven abstentions, the Committee condemned “attempts by governments of some member states to silence critical and independent media” and denounced underhand efforts to restrict media freedom and pluralism via financial patronage. The resolution emphasised public service media, which the Committee said should rely on financial models that assure their editorial independence.

The Committee pointed to the “growing pattern of intimidation” against journalists across the EU, citing the murders of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Ján Kuciak and his fiancée as examples of the risks that confront investigative journalists. The Committee called on public figures to refrain from denigrating journalists and insisted on the obligation to investigate attacks.

The resolution text notes that excessive concentration of media ownership puts pluralism at risk, making it more difficult to challenge the spread of disinformation. The Committee demanded that EU countries take action to avoid horizontal media ownership concentration and guarantee transparency. It criticised governments’ excessive interference in public advertising and said that EU money must not be spent on government-controlled media or political propaganda.

The Committee also asked the European Commission to assess ownership transparency, as well as private and government interference, in each Member State. In the context of the negotiations over the EU long-term budget, it appealed for increased funds for independent journalism.

As for online hate speech and disinformation, the Committee asked for the legal framework to be fortified in order to fight increasing online hate speech and called for greater collaboration between online platforms and law enforcement. It said that platforms’ voluntary actions were “necessary yet still insufficient” in tackling disinformation, illegal content and foreign interference, but stressed that they “must not become private censors”.

The Committee expressed concern about third party democratic interference and highlighted attempts to undermine citizens’ trust in democratic institutions, notably through “conspiracy theories and public disinformation campaigns aimed at discrediting the EU”. Such campaigns have been evident during the pandemic, MEPs said.

The draft resolution will be put to the vote by the full House during the plenary session of 23-26 November 2020. To read the European Parliament’s press release in full, click here.