EU invests over €6 million in media projects supporting debates and information about EU topics

The Commission announced the beneficiaries of several calls for proposals which will produce and disseminate across Europe media content on European topics. Cross-border consortia operating in full editorial independence will offer innovative and attractive formats in several languages covering European affairs, as well as initiatives with specific emphasis on young Europeans. Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, said: “Our message to journalists and content producers in Europe is clear: we will relentlessly support this type of cross-border initiatives and present more projects in the future. We will keep promoting a pluralistic and multilingual media landscape while fully respecting editorial independence. In the current context, it is more important than ever to support and give more space to information, in order to tackle the spread of disinformation”. Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, added: “We firmly support innovation and digital transformation of our media sector. These initiatives help make the sector fit for the digital decade and empower young Europeans to navigate modern news environment. Europe’s citizens must continue to benefit from the richness of information, plurality and creativity of our media environment which is key for an open democratic debate”. As part of the EU Multimedia Actions, EDJNet’s Data Threads and the European Data News Hub will launch projects for media companies and journalists to take advantage of data-driven journalism to produce innovative and attractive content with infographics, video, audio, podcasts or text stories on European affairs. In addition, the European Broadcasting Union and ARTE will lead a pioneer online initiative for public service media to offer news produced by counterparts across Europe in other languages. Finally, as a result of a pilot project proposed by the European Parliament to enrich pan-European debate among young Europeans, SPHERA and ENTR – led by Babel International and Deutsche Welle, respectively – will produce and distribute content on current affairs via social media formats, events, podcast contests and much more. All these initiatives are part of a broader effort to support media freedom and pluralism in the EU. More information on calls is available here.