The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the launch of a new programme dedicated to media resilience, during her State of the Union address at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday 10 September.
The programme will support independent journalism and media literacy at a time when “traditional media are being undermined in some communities in Europe” and “disinformation is thriving” as new information deserts emerge. The fight against corruption and the preservation of democracy are “seriously weakened” by the dismantling and neutralisation of the independent media, said Ursula von der Leyen. In July 2025, a Reporters Without Borders report revealed that public media are subject to political pressure in more than half of EU Member States (see EUROPE 13687/21).
Aware that the sinews of war are financial, the President of the European Commission has proposed “a significant boost in funding for the media in the next budget”. In her view, it will also be necessary to “create favourable conditions for capital investment”. These tools should provide support for independent and local media, so that the European press preserves its freedom.
As a reminder, the key provisions of the regulation on media freedom - transparency of media ownership, greater protection for public service media against political interference, etc. - came into force on 8 August (see EUROPE 13695/21).
Read the State of the Union address: https://aeur.eu/f/icl (Original version in French by Florent Servia)