A broad coalition of 65 European and national organisations from the audiovisual and cultural sectors is addressing the EU Commission, Council and the Parliament with a joint letter expressing their concerns over the EU Commission’s proposal for the European Media Freedom Act.

The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) proposed by the European Commission contains welcomed safeguards for the independent functioning of public service media and duties of media service providers in the internal market, with the objective to ensure the protection of media pluralism and independence across the European Union.

With the EMFA, the European Commission is setting out new “requirements for well-functioning media market measures and procedures”  with the objective of tackling obstacles to the functioning of the internal market for media services, such as disproportionate and inadequate national regulations affecting the media and press sectors. These national regulations are considered as “regulatory burdens” and “obstacles to the exercise of economic activities” in the European media market with the risk of creating “legal uncertainties” weakening investment in media services.

As the letter reads: "We, organisations from the audiovisual and cultural sectors, are concerned that this approach may weaken and possibly challenge the existence of protective and ambitious cultural policies set out by Member States to promote European audiovisual creation in all its diversity. We call on the European co-legislators to revise EMFA Article 20 to ensure continued sustainable conditions for the local audiovisual creation across Europe, which is a cornerstone of well-functioning democracies and an essential means to remain united in diversity."

Download the joint letter here to find more information about the coalition's position on Article 20, and the full list of signatories.