The European Commission is establishing a Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom in Florence with a €600 000 grant to the European University Institute’s (EUI) Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. Starting in December 2011, and headed by Professor Pier Luigi Parcu, the Centre will develop new ideas on how to ensure a highly diverse and free media, and work to enhance the quality of the reflection on media pluralism in Europe.
Announcing the new centre, Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda said: “Freedom of expression depends in part on a diverse and free media. The new centre has an important job to do developing and testing ideas on media pluralism and freedom that can enrich public debate and policy.”
The Centre will carry out four specific activities: theoretical and applied research (working paper series, policy studies, observatory on media pluralism), debates, education and training activities (academic seminars, summer school) and dissemination of results and outcomes.
The EUI has been chosen to host the centre because of the Institute’s long experience in the area of European governance.
This initiative is a further step in the Commission’s ongoing commitment to improve the protection of media pluralism and media freedom in Europe and establish whether further action needs to be taken at European or national and regional level. It recently established a high-level group on this subject, chaired by Dr. Vaira Vike-Freiberga . The Commission is also in the process of establishing a multi-stakeholder group on the future of the media which will become operational in the near future. Here to read more.
