Parliament & Council

Political level (European Parliament & Council)

Do

Safeguard editorial independence by embedding risk-sensitive clauses in legislation and budget lines. (Case study: Investigative journalism)

Support multi-year, core funding mechanisms that include safety, legal defence, and psycho-social care as eligible costs.

Promote ecosystem-wide approaches that link media freedom with digital, competition, and rule-of-law agendas. (Whole of system perspective)

Call for proportional eligibility requirements so that smaller and local actors can access EU funding. (Strengthen local ownership)

Encourage structured donor coordination through Council Conclusions and EP resolutions. (Strengthen local ownership)

Champion investment in research, evaluations, and audience studies to guide evidence-based policymaking. (Invest in knowledge, research, and learning)

Don’t

Impose rigid visibility and reporting rules that could expose or discredit partners in sensitive contexts. (Do no harm)

Allow short-term, project-only funding cycles to dominate EU media support. (Do no harm)

Legislate or fund in silos that separate media freedom from wider governance and democracy measures. (Whole of system perspective) (Coordinate)

Exclude local actors through compliance requirements designed for large international organisations. (Strengthen local ownership) (Do no harm)

Add duplicative reporting obligations that increase administrative burden without improving accountability. (Do no harm)

Reduce research and evaluation to visibility metrics or political communication outputs. (Do no harm)

Best practice

Include a “do no harm” safeguard and visibility waiver guidance in EP reports and Council Conclusions. (Do no harm)

Establish stability windows (3–5 years) in budget programming to give media outlets predictable support. (Do no harm)

Use cross-committee hearings and Council working parties to check coherence between media, digital, and rule-of-law policies. (Whole of system perspective)

Request Commission reporting on the share of funding reaching local and regional actors, and use this to inform policy debates. (Strengthen local ownership)

Highlight duplication and administrative burden through EP oversight and Council discussions, encouraging harmonisation. (Do no harm)

Commission or request annual syntheses of evidence on EU media support impact, shared openly across institutions and Member States. (Whole of system perspective) (Coordinate)