Brussels, March 13, 2024— As the European Parliament on Wednesday voted in favor of the European Media Freedom Act, CPJ and 20 other groups representing journalists, as well as press freedom and civil society organizations, called for effective implementation of the new law to ensure greater media independence and pluralism within the European Union (EU).
The legislation will require EU member states to make changes at the national level to better protect the media and journalists against political interference and spyware and to increase transparency over funding and ownership, amongst other things.
CPJ and partners called on the EU to pressure its member states to be as ambitious as possible to prevent further backsliding on the rule of law and attacks on the media within the bloc.
For more about the EU and press freedom, read our 2023 report, Fragile Progress: The struggle for press freedom in the European Union.
Read the joint statement here: