Media censorship imposed on Member States by EU regulation

20.3.2022

Question for written answer  E-001139/2022
to the Commission
Rule 138
Sandra Pereira (The Left)

Regulation (EU) 2022/350 of the Council states: ‘It shall be prohibited for operators to broadcast or to enable, facilitate or otherwise contribute to broadcast, any content by the legal persons, entities or bodies listed in Annex XV, including through transmission or distribution by any means such as cable, satellite, IP-TV, internet service providers, internet video-sharing platforms or applications, whether new or pre-installed.’ It goes on to say: ‘Any broadcasting licence or authorisation, transmission and distribution arrangement with the legal persons, entities or bodies listed [...] shall be suspended.’

With this regulation, the EU is overstepping its powers and encroaching on those of the Member States. The regulation infringes Article 37 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, which has the following to say on the freedom of expression and information: ‘1. Everyone shall possess the right to freely express and disclose their thoughts in words, images or by any other means, as well as the right to inform others, inform themselves and be informed without hindrance or discrimination; 2. Exercise of said rights shall not be hindered or limited by any type or form of censorship.’

What does the Commission have to say about the legitimacy of and rationale behind the media censorship being imposed on the Member States, in contravention of their respective constitutions and disregard for their powers?