Do no harm

"Do no harm" recommendations specific to the political actors such as the EU Parliament and Council.

Best practice

Reference EMFA/anti-SLAPP work to frame “do no harm” as independence & safety; ask Commission/EEAS to publish harm-mitigation checklists per instrument.

Do

Safeguard editorial independence across EU instruments (back core/operational funding lines; resist content-linked strings). (see State of the Media report under ‘Reports at the end of section on Principle 1).

Embed risk & safety baselines (physical, digital, legal, psycho-social) in regulations, calls, and budget notes.

Allow context-based exemptions from EU visibility/branding where it could endanger partners or perceived independence. (see ‘case studies’ below for examples).

Champion donor coordination & harmonisation (reporting light, shared M&E, pooled funds) to reduce grantee burden.

Don’t

Don’t mandate branding/communications in ways that expose outlets or undermine independence/neutrality. (see case study below)

Don’t push short funding cycles that create churn, dependency and staff burnout.