The European Commission has opened public consultations for citizens and groups to comment on whether to adopt new EU-wide media regulations, including a measure addressing the independence of media regulatory bodies. The announcement comes as policy makers and civil society groups call for stronger EU-wide regulations on media independence and pluralism in order to ensure that common democratic […]
Archive of posts tagged European Commission
Hungarian lawmakers pass disputed Constitutional amendments
Hungarian lawmakers on Monday passed a package of controversial amendments to the country’s Constitution that opponents say weakens democratic checks and balances and violates the rule of law. The Fourth Amendment puts into law numerous measures that were introduced by the center-right Government and later annulled as unconstitutional by Hungary’s Supreme Court. The amendment, which contains […]
Hungarian media laws spark call for EU-wide regulation of media pluralism
Following an investigation of the 2010 Hungarian media laws, an expert group led by Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the former Latvian president, has published a report proposing the establishment of EU-wide regulations aimed at safeguarding media pluralism and freedom.
Bayer’s anti-Roma rant draws fire
An article by one of the Fidesz party founders, who wrote that Roma are “animals,” has stirred sharp condemnation from senior European Commission officials, human rights groups, and media associations in Europe and Hungary. In early January, conservative commentator Zsolt Bayer wrote an editorial in the pro-government newspaper Magyar Hírlap in which he claimed that […]
Danko Radio to help replace lost regional radio programs
After shutting down its regional production studios, the Media Services and Asset Management Fund (MTVA), the body in charge of managing public media, has announced an effort to replace the programs with a new radio station, called Danko Radio, which broadcasts to the residents of the Hungarian countryside. The new station, which is to begin […]
