The Centre for Media Pluralism at the EUI

FLORENCE, ITALY – In January the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF), at the European University Institute’s Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, released a policy report on European Union Competencies in Respect of Media Pluralism and Media Freedom.

This independent policy report, written at the request of the European Commission, presents the phenomena of media freedom and pluralism, and the major academic and policy debates surrounding their social, political, economic role and implications. It highlights the importance of media freedom and pluralism for the functioning, sustainability and legitimacy of a democratic government, and therefore the necessity for relevant policy actions.

The text provides a state-of-the-art-perspective on measuring and evaluating media pluralism. It analyses major aspects of media economics and especially ownership, including the concentration tendency, the relationship between pluralism and the increase in online sources, the impact of emerging online-only media companies, and globalisation.

The legal core of the report examines the development of the debate on legal instruments and jurisprudence, as well as the EU legal instruments currently available to tackle media pluralism and media freedom. As there are currently few EU instruments and a general legal uncertainty in this field, the report suggests how the legislation in force could be used or modified in order to foster media freedom and pluralism in a more efficient way.

The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom was established at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advances Studies, part of the European University Institute (EUI), with the co-funding of the European Union at the beginning of 2012. The CMPF conducts research and training activities, and organises policy and academic events. The Centre is headed by Professor Pier Luigi Parcu and its residential research team is composed of experts in the following areas: legal studies, new media policies, media markets and economics, political science and political communications.

In particular, this policy report is written by the permanent team of the CMPF: Dr. Elda Brogi, Dr. Andrea Calderaro, Dr. Alina Dobreva, Giovanni Gangemi, Paula Gori, under the general supervision of its Director Prof. Pier Luigi Parcu.

The EUI is a unique international centre for doctorate and post-doctorate studies and research in economics, law, history and the political and social sciences, based in Florence.