EU-focused Directorates-General
(DG CONNECT, DG JUST, Secretariat-General)
⚖️ About this section
This chapter brings together the Commission’s internally-focused Directorates-General — DG CONNECT, DG JUST, and the Secretariat-General (SG) — which together ensure that Europe’s internal digital, legal, and governance frameworks reinforce, rather than weaken, the Union’s democratic and informational resilience.
While each DG has a distinct mandate, their collective coordination is what operationalises the OECD Principles on Relevant and Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment within the EU itself. DG CONNECT anchors the digital and media-market environment; DG JUST safeguards rule-of-law and legal protections; and the SG guarantees coherence across all policy domains.
This section provides:
An overview page outlining shared priorities and coordination mechanisms;
Dedicated subpages for each DG describing mandates, opportunities, and challenges;
Implementation examples showing how internal coordination works in practice; and
A consolidated checklist distilling practical actions to embed media freedom, information integrity, and journalist safety across the Commission’s internal machinery.
Together, these pages translate the OECD Principles into the everyday work of the EU institutions — ensuring that Europe’s democratic infrastructure is not just protected abroad, but strengthened at home.
🎯 Purpose
Different mandates — one shared responsibility: integrate media freedom, information integrity, and journalist safety into every facet of EU internal policymaking and coordination. These DGs shape the EU’s democratic, digital, and rule-of-law frameworks. Their coherence and collaboration determine whether Europe’s internal market and legal systems protect — or inadvertently weaken — the public-interest information ecosystem.
📘 In Brief
DG CONNECT
Oversees the digital single market, media and audiovisual policy, platform regulation, and innovation.
Leads implementation of the European Media Freedom Act, Digital Services Act, and Digital Markets Act — anchoring safety, transparency, and competition for the information ecosystem.
DG JUST
Ensures the rule of law, fundamental rights, and judicial cooperation across the EU.
Safeguards legal frameworks for anti-SLAPP, journalist protection, data privacy, and freedom of expression; integrates media pluralism into broader rule-of-law monitoring.
Secretariat-General (SG)
Coordinates cross-DG policy coherence and strategic planning for the Commission.
Ensures that media and information-integrity priorities are mainstreamed across DGs, including in MFF, Democracy Shield, and Team Europe Democracy (TED) coordination.
💡 Why this matters
The credibility and resilience of Europe’s information ecosystem depend on how well its internal policies align. Fragmentation between digital, legal, and governance frameworks undermines both internal coherence and external credibility. By operationalising the OECD Principles, these DGs can ensure that EU regulation and funding mechanisms work together — treating journalism as democratic infrastructure, not a by-product of other agendas.
🧭 Strategic Recommendations
Mainstream information integrity across all DG frameworks
Integrate the OECD Principles into EU democracy, rule-of-law, and digital-transition strategies.
Include explicit references to media freedom, journalist safety, and information integrity in annual management plans and impact assessments.
Embed safeguards into legislative and funding design
Ensure that calls under Creative Europe and Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) include safety, legal defence, and organisational resilience as eligible costs.
Apply do-no-harm risk checks and visibility-waiver options in programme templates to prevent exposure of partners.
Strengthen horizontal coordination
Use SG-led taskforces and inter-service groups (DG CONNECT, DG JUST, EEAS, DG INTPA) to align grant design, reporting templates, and MEL frameworks.
Develop a shared repository of evaluations, compliance guidance, and lessons learned accessible across DGs.
Leverage flagship instruments
DG CONNECT to lead follow-through on the European Media Freedom Act, ensuring proportional implementation across Member States.
DG JUST to coordinate anti-SLAPP enforcement and legal-aid mechanisms for journalists.
SG to embed these instruments into the European Democracy Shield and the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034).
Promote transparency and learning
Commission joint studies on the economic and security value of media, building on The Economic Imperative of Investing in Public Interest Media (2025).
Track cross-DG funding flows for journalism and make anonymised data public to strengthen accountability and coordination.
📊 Operationalising the OECD Principles
1️⃣ Do No Harm
Apply visibility waivers and privacy-by-design in all media-related funding or communications.
Include safety costs and harm-reduction measures as default budget lines.
2️⃣ Increase Support
Shift from short-term, project-only funding toward multi-year and core-support lines under Creative Europe and CERV.
Pilot flexible bridging mechanisms and small-grant windows for local outlets.
3️⃣ Whole-of-System Perspective
Align legal, digital, and governance frameworks to reinforce a healthy information ecosystem.
Use SG-led coordination to ensure coherence between EMFA, DSA, DMA, and Democracy Shield actions.
4️⃣ Local Leadership & Ownership
Enable regional and local actors to co-design or lead projects.
Apply proportional compliance standards and publish examples of successful local-led EU projects.
5️⃣ Coordination of Support
Reduce duplication between DGs and harmonise audit, reporting, and MEL requirements.
Implement shared due-diligence templates and establish joint review panels for overlapping calls.
6️⃣ Invest in Knowledge, Research & Learning
Treat media data and policy research as a shared EU public good.
Commission annual synthesis reports on funding impacts and trends, accessible to DGs and Member States.
🔗 Bridging Internal and External Action
Together, DG CONNECT, DG JUST, and the Secretariat-General form the institutional backbone of the EU’s internal information-integrity architecture. CONNECT ensures that Europe’s digital markets and platforms remain fair and transparent; JUST secures the rule-of-law and legal protections that underpin press freedom; and the SG weaves these strands into a coherent, cross-DG policy framework.
When these three DGs coordinate effectively, they translate the OECD Principles into concrete EU practice — aligning legislative safeguards, funding mechanisms, and evidence-based policymaking. This internal alignment is what gives credibility and operational strength to Europe’s external action, implemented through DG INTPA, EEAS, and EU Delegations abroad.
Policy coherence between internal and external pillars ensures that the EU speaks with one voice on media freedom and information integrity — from domestic regulation to global democracy support. The stronger this bridge, the more effectively Europe can defend its information ecosystem at home and abroad.
🧭 For external implementation and global partnerships, see: 🌍 Internationally-Focused DGs 🏛️ Political Level — European Parliament & Council
Field Voices
“We should be talking about information ecosystems, not just media. Staffing is improved when mainstreamed across sectors — just like gender mainstreaming.” — DG INTPA official, June 2025
“Too often, reporting templates differ between DGs that fund the same grantees. Harmonisation would cut administrative time and help us focus on outcomes.” — DG JUST staff member, consultation 2025
“We need mechanisms, not just goodwill — one unit or taskforce must be responsible for cross-DG coordination.” — EU staff participant, OECD Toolkit focus group, 2025
🔗 See also
🧭 Political Level (European Parliament & Council)
🌐 Internationally-Focused DGs (INTPA, ENEST, MENA)
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