On 10 December in Barcelona, the 4th plenary meeting of the European Board for Media Services (EBMS) took place, preceded by a workshop dedicated to regulating large platforms. National regulators from EU member states gathered in the capital of Catalonia. Ukraine participates in the work of the Board as an observer, represented by the First Deputy Chair of the National Council, Valentyn Koval.
The EBMS plenary meeting was organized under the chairmanship of Spain, hosted by the Spanish National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC). The Media Board’s main focus was the implementation of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).
During the meeting, representatives of regulatory authorities concentrated on reviewing the Board’s annual achievements and on the key challenges that European regulators will face in 2026.
Renate Nikolay, Deputy Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology at the European Commission, stated that 2026 will bring a significant update to European media legislation. In particular, there will be a review of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and a broad range of issues related to copyright and related rights. She urged media regulators to focus specifically on content-related matters.
The European Commission representative also announced that work is currently underway on a project to create a digital infrastructure for the media, which will include key functionalities for processing news information.
A separate strategic session was dedicated to the practical implementation of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and preparations for new regulatory approaches in the media sector.
For Ukraine, this discussion is of particular importance. The implementation of the EMFA is one of the tasks we will need to accomplish as part of the European integration process.
Ukraine’s participation in the work of the European Board for Media Services (EBMS) as an observer makes it possible to draw the attention of European partners to developments in Ukraine, particularly to the impact of Russia’s armed aggression on freedom of expression, the safety of journalists, and the state of the Ukrainian information space.
During the plenary meeting, the EBMS leadership for the coming year was elected. Amma Asante, Chair of the Dutch media regulator CvdM and former Vice-Chair, was elected as Chair of the Media Board. Martin Ajdari from the French regulator ARCOM was elected as Vice-Chair.
A special workshop preceded the plenary meeting, dedicated to issues related to the implementation by EU countries of Article 17 of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and Article 3 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive.
During the workshop, representatives of EU institutions, media experts, and regulators from Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, and Lithuania shared how their countries are adapting legislation to meet the new requirements. The discussion focused on ensuring transparent allocation of state advertising, minimizing risks of political influence on the media, and approaches to monitoring and regulating platforms.
For us, participation in the work of the Media Board is an important contribution to future European integration, as it allows us to study modern European approaches to platform regulation, ensuring transparency of state advertising, combating disinformation, and developing media literacy. These areas already define the foundation of EU media policy today and must be properly adapted into Ukrainian legislation.
Ukraine participates in the work of the EBMS as an observer, together with the Republic of Moldova, which is represented by the Chair of the Moldovan regulator, Liliana Vitu.
Background:
Ukraine and Moldova obtained observer status simultaneously in October 2023. At that time, the media regulators of both countries were officially included for the first time in the work of the European community of regulators – the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA). Today, ERGA, in accordance with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), has been transformed into the European Board for Media Services (EBMS).
