Source: European Parliament
The Commission remains strongly committed to promoting the competitiveness of European media companies, encouraging the cross-border circulation of media content and enhancing cultural diversity and media pluralism as key policy objectives under the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD)[1].
The Commission regularly reports on the implementation of the rules to promote European works by linear and nonlinear service providers set in Articles 13, 16 and 17 of the AVMSD.
Additionally, by December 2026, the Commission will assess the impact of the AVMSD and deliver an evaluation report. The evaluation report will examine the relevance of current rules, including those on the promotion of European works and quota obligations. It will also identify potential shortcomings in view of the evolution of the market.
The country-of-origin principle remains a cornerstone of the internal audiovisual media market. The European Media Freedom Act[2] has introduced a new cooperation mechanism among national media regulators designed to enhance regulatory convergence and enforcement under the AVMSD. If a revision of the AVMSD proves to be necessary, the Commission will carefully evaluate different options for achieving its objectives .
The current AVMSD definition of European works covers all the audiovisual works originating in the EU, and also those from parties to the European Convention on Transfrontier Television of the Council of Europe[3].
Any change would have to, on the one hand, be duly justified, e.g. based on strong evidence of positive impact on the European economy and, on the other hand, avoid unjustified or disproportionate harm to European media service providers.
- [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32018L1808
- [2] https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/new-push-european-democracy/protecting-democracy/european-media-freedom-act_en
- [3] https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/-/council-of-europe-european-convention-on-transfrontier-television-ets-no-132-translations