EFJ calls for regulatory scrutiny of ANN sale

A press release said that "new evidence reignites concerns over the impact of such a concentration on the internal market and on the editorial independence, which would benefit from an opinion by the Media Board".

"Given Alpac Capital’s history of opaque financing and regulatory non-compliance regarding its 2022 acquisition of the Euronews TV channel, which was partially financed by funds linked to the Hungarian state and individuals close to the government of Viktor Orbán, full transparency is urgently needed," it added.

The overall impact on media pluralism, editorial independence, public opinion and the internal market cannot be properly evaluated without full disclosure of the source of the ultimate beneficial ownership and the funding sources behind the offer contained in the Equity Commitment Letter.

"The EFJ, on behalf of its members from the region, together with Article 19 Europe and BFMI, today called in a letter on the European Board for Media Services, the European Commission and the competent national regulatory authorities to closely monitor developments within Adria News Network, to assess their potential impact on editorial independence and media pluralism in accordance with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), and ensure rigorous oversight, full transparency ownership disclosure, and binding protections for media freedom," the press release said.

EFJ President Maja Sever said that "journalists are not assets to be transferred from one owner to another alongside a company, and newsrooms must not become instruments of political or commercial interests.... Media pluralism, editorial independence, and professional media’s labour rights are at stake".