2024-04-15 10:40:34
Although we are 6 years ahead of Brussels, still the executive – no regular or caretaker government, has completed the property register, nor is there a working revenue declaration mechanism
The first European law on media freedom comes into force within days. The act, which was proposed by the European Commission and approved by the European Parliament to protect journalists in the EU, combat political interference in editorial decisions and ensure transparency in media ownership and funding, was approved at the end of March by the Council of EU and will be published in the Official Journal of the EU. Thus, its compliance becomes mandatory for all member countries.
This time, Bulgaria got ahead of Brussels, because the principles on which the new law is based were adopted and have been operating in our country (at least on paper) for 6 years. They were written into the Bulgarian media law in 2018 with the changes proposed by the deputy and current chairman of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Delyan Peevski. The motives are similar to those with which Brussels has now proposed the pan-European act – combating disinformation, guaranteeing the rights of users of media services – readers, listeners and viewers knowing who is behind the news flow and clarity about the financing of publications. In 2022, the procedure for the adoption of the European law began, with the reasoning of Brussels that it was in “response to the increasing concerns in the EU regarding the politicization of the media and the lack of transparency regarding the ownership of the media”.
The law was approved by MEPs with the argument that it will play a preventive role in the fight against disinformation. And also with the hope that “Member States will guarantee media pluralism and protect the independence of the media from governmental, political, economic or private interference”.
In fulfillment of these goals, the principle of “transparency of media ownership” is one of the main pillars on which the European media act is based. In order to be able to assess their independence, Brussels has obliged all media registered on the territory of the Union to publish information about the structure of its property.
“To further contribute to achieving a high level of media ownership transparency, Member States should also entrust national regulatory authorities or services, or other competent authorities and services, with the development of media ownership databases. These databases should operate as a one-stop shop that allows recipients of media services to easily check relevant information related to a given media service provider,” the act says, which will also have to declare revenue “received from state advertising or state financial support, including from non-EU countries”.
In Bulgaria, the obligation enshrined in European law to have similar public databases in the member states is already a fact thanks to the amendments introduced 6 years ago by Delyan Peevski. With the amendments adopted on his initiative by the then acting 44th National Assembly to the Law on the Compulsory Deposit of Printed and Other Works and on the Announcement of Broadcasters and Media Service Providers, the requirement was introduced that all media – print, online, TV and radio providers announce its final owner in a unified register at the Ministry of Culture. Transparency was also provided for the funding they received, far greater than even currently provided for in the pan-European act. It is required to declare both income from advertising contracts and all other sources of funding, including European subsidies and donations. In this way, Bulgarian citizens received guarantees that they will have enough information about the media they use to ensure that the information provided by them is objective, not manipulated and not influenced by anyone’s interests. Since – again with the same changes, a second register was created at the Ministry of Culture – of distributors of printed works and distributors of other types of media services, a tool was also created to track whether there is an illegal concentration on the market. This was another requirement now enshrined in the pan-European act.
In 2018, when Delyan Peevski introduced the changes, one of the media unions – the Union of Publishers in Bulgaria, then chaired by the co-owner of “Iconomedia” (the media group that publishes “Capital” and “Dnevnik”) Teodor Zakhov strongly opposed the changes And as of today, none of the Bulgarian governments – regular or official, has shown activity after the “Peevski” changes – from 2018 until now, the ownership register is still incomplete and there is no evidence that the Ministry of Culture has taken any steps in Bulgaria, to declare the owners and sources of their income.
Publications that do not appear in a register, however, receive public funds and contracts under EU operational programs and from public institutions.
What does the pan-European act envisage, which is also recorded in the “Peevski” amendments?
The European Media Freedom Act is based on 5 basic principles. In addition to transparency of the ownership of all publications, it provides additional guarantees for the independence of public media. It also states that member states must ensure a fair distribution of state advertising, so that the process is transparent and non-discriminatory, and that revenue generated is public and shows both total costs and funds allocated to specific publications .
The law prohibits the use of spyware against the media, journalists and their families. And also protection of media content online with the introduction of safeguards against “unjustified removal of media content produced in accordance with professional standards”. To this end, except in cases that “do not involve systemic risks such as disinformation”, major online platforms will have to to inform media service providers before downloading any material.