Activities of Josep-Maria TERRICABRAS related to 2017/2209(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Media pluralism and media freedom in the European Union (short presentation)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on media pluralism and media freedom in the European Union PDF (525 KB) DOC (93 KB)
Amendments (25)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
- having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents,
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
- having regard to the outcomes of the Media Pluralism Monitor of the European University Institute’s Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16
Citation 16
— having regard to the outcomes of the World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders, and to those of the Media Pluralism Monitor of the European University Institute’s Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom,
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas citizens are confronted with a radical evolution of the media system, the emergence of new online media and new powerful actors, such as search engines and social media platforms; whereas this development represents both a challenge and opportunity for the promotion of freedom of expression and for democratizing the production of news by involving citizens in the public debate, and for converting a growing number of information users into information producers; whereas, however, the concentration of power of media conglomerates, platform operators and internet intermediaries risks negative consequences for the pluralism of public debate and access to information;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas journalists require direct, immediate and unencumbered access to information by public administration to properly hold authorities to account;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
E b. whereas information obtained both by right of inquiry as well as through whistle-blowers are complementary to each other and both essential for journalists' ability to fulfil their public interest mission;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
E c. whereas journalists require fullest legal protection to use and disseminate such information of public interest in their line of work;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E d (new)
Recital E d (new)
E d. whereas the right to demand and receive information from public administrations remains scattered and incomplete across the European Union;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
G a. whereas research consistently finds evidence that women are in the minority across media sectors, particularly in creative roles, and are severely underrepresented at senior, decision-making levels; whereas studies of women’s participation in journalism suggest that, while there is a relatively good gender balance among entrants into the journalism profession, the distribution of decision-making responsibility is characterised by significant gender disparity;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Notes the attempts by public officials to restrict the dissemination of information by journalists by the abuse of secrecy or intellectual property legislation; Calls on the Commission to propose broader safeguards for journalists to freely access, use and re-use information obtained in their course of work;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure that journalists are given the proper tools to inquire and receive information from EU and Member State administrations;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Calls on the Commission to urgently review Regulation 1049/2001 and to propose improvements to the public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents; calls on the Commission to abstain from any more efforts to prevent or deter journalists and members of the public from seeking and obtaining information held by the Commission through arbitrary hurdles; Notes with indignation any attempts to deny access to information by the use of delay tactics, bogus reasons for dismissal or unjustified narrowing of the scope of information that was requested;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Highlights the important role exerted by independent and pluralistic media in political debate and on the right to pluralistic information both during electoral terms and in the intervening periods; stresses the need to guarantee full expression for all political actors, regardless of and base their presence in public broadcasters on journalistic and professional criteria and not on their degree of institutional representativeness;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses that any measures restricting internet content should only be adopted in well-definedspecified, explicit and legitimate circumstances and under strict judicial oversight, in line with international standards, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, and Article 52 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recognises that the new digital environment has exacerbated the problem of the spread of disinformation, or the so- called ‘fake’ or ‘false’ news; recalls, however, that this is not a new phenomenon, nor is it restricted to the online sphere; expresses its concern at the potential threat it can pose to the freedom of expression if states increase censorship under the pretext of preventing the circulation of fake news; deplores he fact that the term is increasingly being used by certain states and politicians to undermine public trust in the media and enable attacks on activists and journalist; stresses the importance of effective systems of self-regulation which are based on the principles of accuracy and transparency and which provide for proper obligations and instruments regarding source verification and fact checking;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Emphasises that a critical use of media content is essential to people’s understanding of current issues and to their contribution to public life; media literacy empowers citizens and is a crucial democratic competence, calls, therefore, on the Commission and the Member States to promote and support media literacy projects and develop further activities under EU funding programmes, such as ESI-Funds and Horizon 2020;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Underlines that whistle-blowing is an essential element for investigative journalism and freedom of press; recalls that journalists can be subject to legal prosecution rather than legal protection when, acting in the public interest, they disclose information or report suspected misconduct, wrongdoing, fraud or illegal activity; therefore calls on the Commission to set up a framework for a common European legislation to protect whistle-blowers and journalists;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14 b. Encourages the media sector to safeguard gender equality in media policy and practice, through co-regulatory mechanisms, internal codes of conduct and other voluntary actions;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
Paragraph 14 c (new)
14 c. Urges the European Commission and the Member states to engage on social campaigns, education programmes, and more targeted training and awareness- raising (including for industry decision- makers) to promote egalitarian values and practices through funding and promotion at the national and European level in order to address gender inequality in the media sector effectively;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)
Paragraph 14 d (new)
14 d. Underlines that media professionals often work in precarious conditions with regard to their contracts, salaries and social guarantees, which compromises their ability to work appropriately and thus hampers media freedom;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 e (new)
Paragraph 14 e (new)
14 e. Underlines that all citizens have the right to access to independent information in their mother tongue, be it state or minority language; asks the Commission and the Member States to push forwards polices that would guarantee that access;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Member States to adopt and implement legislative frameworks in order to avoid horizontal concentration of ownership in the media sector, to guarantee transparency of media ownership and management, and to ensure independent oversight and effective compliance mechanisms in order to prevent conflicts of interest, revolving doors and ensure editorial and journalistic independence and safeguard the media’s role as public watchdog;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Underlines the importance of supporting and promoting new models of sustainable financing to support innovation in digital news and high-level independent journalism in order to reduce the high economic dependence on private advertising, thus creating the proper environment for a free press and independent media;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Calls on the Commission to allocate permanent and adequate funding in the EU budget to support the Media Pluralism Monitor at the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom and create a yearly mechanism of assessment of the risks for media pluralism in the EU member states; stresses that the same mechanism should be applied to measure Media Pluralism in candidate countries and the results of the Media Pluralism Monitor should have actual bearing on the progress of the negotiation process;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15 c. Calls on the Commission to take into account the recommendations contained in the European Parliament’s resolution of 25 October 2016 on the establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights; in this sense, calls on the Commission to inlcude the results and the recommendations of the Media Pluralism Monitor on the risks for media pluralism and media freedom in the EU when drawing up the annual Report on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights (European DRF Report);