Defending the pluralism of the mass media, protecting their independence of political power, guaranteeing a free market in the area of mass media. These are some of the key points of the position taken today by the European Parliament gathered in Brussels that gave the go-ahead, after a wide debate (307 votes for, 262 votes against, 28 abstentions), to a document submitted by the Estonian MEP Marianne Mikko. It asks for the adoption of a directive across the EU to guarantee "all EU’s citizens have access to free and diversified mass media in all member states". TVs, papers, radios, the Internet are actually "a tool of political influence", while it warns against the danger "they might be unable to serve their purpose as defenders of democracy". So the Assembly is asking for a stable legal framework "offering a wide protection of pluralism"; the enforcement of competition rules to reduce concentrated ownership; a "charter for the freedom of the mass media"; "editorial statutes" to "prevent any interference from the owners, shareholders or external bodies, such as governments, in the content of information"; "objective criteria to assign TV frequency bands".” “
