Casa calls for more EU support for the media sector

MEP Casa holds a meeting with European Commissioners Jourova and Breton.

Member of the European Parliament David Casa has insisted that the European Commission should make a proposal for a transparent and unbiased mechanism which would be used for the allocation of state-aid for media houses across Europe. He said that the amounts and the recipients of such funding should be made public and constantly reviewed.

MEP Casa made this appeal during a meeting with the Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, Vera Jourova and the European Commission for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton. Casa participated in this meeting as the Co-Chair of the European Parliament’s Media Working Group.

Making reference to the challenges faced by media houses across Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic, David Casa said that the sector has been hit significantly, and the European Union’s priority should be to provide the needed support as soon as possible.

In this regard, he insisted that whilst Member States should be provided with the resources to support media houses, we must ensure that such funding will not effect media pluralism and risk editorial censorship. “The mechanism proposed will prevent government from using the funds under their management to pressure media houses in their reporting,” Casa said.

In the meeting, MEP Casa, who forms part of the European Parliament’s Bureau and its Working Group on Information and Communication Policy, welcomed Commissioner Jourova’s commitment to presenting anti-SLAPP legislation as early as next year.

The Commissioners also informed MEPs of their efforts to present the European Democracy Action Plan. The objective of the plan is to ensure that citizens are able to fully participate in the democratic system through informed decision-making. Media freedom and pluralism will be key components of this plan.