The European Commission told the Nova.rs portal hat the European Board for Media Services is setting up an expert group to look into the sale and takeover of Adria News Network (ANN) media outlets in Serbia to Alpac Capital.
The deal drew calls from journalists’ organizations for a review by the European Union. The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Balkan Free Media Initiative and Article 19 Europe called the European Board for Media Services and the European Commission to look into the transaction. Alpaca Capital CEO Pedro Vargas David registered himself as director of all ANN media outlets and companies earlier this week.
Nova.rs asked the European Commission for a comment about the deal and was told that the “European Board for Media Service is setting up an ad hoc expert group to look into the admissibility of the case”. “We therefore have no comment at this stage on whether the present transaction would fall under the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) ,” a Commission Spokesperson said in a written reply, adding that the EC can’t comment company decisions.
“In general terms, media freedom and pluralism are essential foundations of a democratic society and important part of fundamental rights in the EU. Both the EMFA and the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) provide for media pluralism safeguards and guarantees to ensure for transparency of media ownership. The European Media Freedom Act inter alia obliges Member States to provide an assessment of the impact of key media market concentrations on media pluralism and editorial independence through media pluralism tests. It is therefore for the competent authorities of the Member States to ensure the proper implementation and enforcement of EU acquis in this area,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that respecting and ensuring media freedom and pluralism is key for the EU path of the EU candidate countries. “As part of their accession process under chapters 23 (judiciary and fundamental rights) and 10 (digital transformation and media) they are expected to align with EU acquis and standards in this area and implement them properly in practice. Our Enlargement Package reports provide for a full assessment of the situation and persisting challenges in these areas in all the candidate countries,” the Commission spokesperson said.
Source: N1
