A Financial Times editorial, Brussels' oversight of regulators would be a retrograde step, argues that European Union proposals aimed at safeguarding press freedom and media plurality "ring alarm bells."
The paper is concerned about the suggestion that media councils set up within countries (such as the UK's current Press Complaints Commission) should be subject to monitoring by the European Commission to ensure they "comply with European values". It contends:
"Giving the commission oversight of media councils would just open the door to a new kind of interference – from Brussels, rather than from member states…
This newspaper believes that the best way to guarantee both better oversight and press freedom is a voluntary system of self-regulation, albeit one with the enforcement powers necessary to deter abuses…
Making Brussels media's new master is not the way to guarantee a free and vibrant press."
Source: FT
