Study supporting the impact assessment of the European Media Freedom Act

Support for preparation of an impact assessment to accompany an EU initiative on the European Media Freedom Act – Final report

Based on the work carried out by the project team, the study presents three key points:

1. The definition of the problems to be addressed, which are identified as:
   1. obstacles to cross-border activity and investment in the internal media market;
   2. insufficient regulatory cooperation and convergence at EU level;
   3. interference in the free provision of quality media services in the internal market; and;
   4. opaque and/or unfair allocation of economic resources in the internal media market.
2. The justification for the EU to act in this policy field, which is the need to improve the conditions for the functioning of the internal market, in particular by removing current and future obstacles. In this context, Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union could serve as the right legal basis to set a framework that addresses the barriers hampering the functioning of the internal media market and ensures a level playing field.
3. The specific objectives of the European Media Freedom Act as well as policy options to achieve them. This part presents a cost benefit analysis of the three proposed policy options and their comparison.

On this basis, the study identifies a legislative proposal and a recommendation on media independence as the preferred policy option. This is accompanied by a governance system based on a Board for Media Services supported by a Secretariat provided by the Commission.

Expected exploitation of the results

This study assisted the Commission in the preparation of the Impact Assessment accompanying the European Media Freedom Act. The results have provided evidence and analysis on the effectiveness, efficiency and proportionality of the different policy options identified in the Impact Assessment. They have allowed for the comparison and identification of the preferred policy option, in particular by analysing the practical implications of the initiative on media market players, public authorities and citizens.