EU Candidates Must Ensure Media Pluralism, Transparency

Mogens Blicher Bjerregard

Countries pursuing membership in the EU will need to develop mechanisms to ensure media pluralism, transparency of ownership and self-regulation once they join the Union, the president of the European Federation of Journalists, Mogens Blicher Bjerregard, said on March 18.

Speaking for BETA and Fonet, Bjerregard commented on the Freedom of the Media Act, which the European Commission plans to pass in the second half of the year, saying that he hoped the Commission would develop mechanisms that it could use to request EU members to ensure pluralism, transparency and self-regulation.

“This goes for candidate countries as well. The freedom of the media is a key issue in the accession talks with the candidates. I have had multiple talks with media organizations in Serbia, and I know that they want this part of the Copenhagen Criteria to be taken seriously,” Bjerregard said, speaking at a conference called, Free European Media in Gdansk. He underlined the importance of pluralism, with state support for private media outlets, but with full editorial freedom, as well as the significance of the local media.

“I am aware that you have private media outlets that do not care about different opinions. It’s a long fight, but the only way to fight is to ensure pluralism, so that competition can create different information for the public,” Bjerregard said.