On 17 February, a new series of online meetings under the Twinning project began, bringing together experts from the National Council and their European counterparts to discuss the interplay between the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), the Transparency and Targeted Political Advertising Regulation (TTPA), and the Digital Services Act (DSA). The objective of these meetings is to help Ukraine develop and implement the provisions of the EMFA, TTPA and DSA into national legislation in line with its EU accession path.
Over the course of four online meetings, representatives of media regulators from Italy, France, Germany and Greece share their experience in applying these EU acts. Ukrainian experts get a comprehensive view of the new European rules, their implementation and possible solutions for the Ukrainian media market.
At the first meeting, participants focused on the key provisions of the Media Freedom Act and its impact on the media market and audience. This session opened a block dedicated to the dissemination of audiovisual content in the digital environment, political advertising and regulation of online platforms.
The EMFA, adopted at the EU level and effective from November 2024, is the first act to establish comprehensive rules for the media sector and the interaction between traditional media and online platforms. It aims to protect freedom of speech and pluralism, limit political interference, over-concentration of ownership, non-transparent funding and the impact of large platforms on citizens’ access to information.
During the session, key EMFA articles were reviewed:
- right of recipients of media services (Article 3) – ensuring access to a plurality of editorially independent media content;
- rights of media service providers (Article 4) – freedom of operation in the internal market, prohibition of state interference in editorial policy, enhanced protection of journalists and information sources;
- safeguards for the independent functioning of public service media providers (Article 5) – the requirement of independence, transparent procedures for the appointment of management and stable funding;
- transparency of ownership and editorial independence of media service providers (Article 6) – the obligation to disclose the ownership structure and sources of advertising revenue, as well as internal guarantees of the independence of editorial decisions.
A separate block was dedicated to the EU’s new media governance system, the European Board for Media Services, which coordinates the work of national regulators, promotes the consistent application of the EMFA and provides opinions in cross-border cases. For Ukraine, harmonising its legislation with the EMFA and participating in the work of this Board, as an observer, is an important element of its preparation for EU membership.
Participants also focused on countering hostile propaganda and media services controlled by third countries, which can pose risks to public security through propaganda and disinformation. The EMFA offers a mechanism for joint actions of national regulators and the European Board for Media Services to take coordinated decisions on such services within a single media market.
European colleagues presented new approaches to media interaction with large online platforms. The platforms cannot arbitrarily remove or restrict the content of media service providers, but must first notify them, give them time to respond, and provide tools to identify their status and ensure clear visibility of the company.
In addition, the participants reviewed the rules for assessing media ownership concentration in terms of the impact on pluralism, transparency and comparability of audience measurement systems that affect the allocation of advertising budgets, as well as the requirements for transparent and non-discriminatory state advertising.
The meeting concluded with a discussion on how the EMFA is being incorporated into Ukrainian legislation and on the main challenges of this process, including the tight timeframe left for legislators to implement this act.
Further, as part of the same Twinning component, an online meeting will be held on the regulation of political advertising in the EU and the application of the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) Regulation.
Reference: EMFA (European Media Freedom Act) is the first document to protect media freedom at the European Union level. It aims to establish common rules for the proper functioning of the EU’s internal market. The Act was initiated by the European Commission in 2022, was finally adopted by the European Union in 2024, and is mandatory for implementation in all EU member states.
It determines the general provisions, rights and obligations of media entities and recipients of media, the framework for regulatory cooperation, including the interaction of national regulators, the European Board for Media Services, interaction with video-sharing platforms and large online platforms, requirements for state advertising, protection of journalistic sources and media, etc.
