ERGA united and ready to help implement new European economic sanctions against Russian government-controlled media

*Arcom summons attention to the ERGA Presidency press release (in English and French)*.

Following the February 27 announcement by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on additional measures to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Council of the European Union has adopted the following decision: (CFSP) 2022/351 which penalty notice amends Decision 2014/512/CFSP and imposes new restrictive measures against Russian propaganda, as well as an amendment modifying Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 which concerns restrictive measures relating to Russian actions destabilizing the situation in Ukraine. These measures are immediately and directly applicable to all Member States and are designed to restrict access to the main Russian state-controlled media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik on the European media market.

At the beginning of February, the German media regulation authority announced its decision concerning the distribution of Russia Today on its territory. Last week, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish and Estonian media regulators announced measures to reduce the transmission of certain Russian audiovisual media services on their respective territories.

ERGA members are united and ready to contribute to the rapid and effective implementation of the new measures among the players concerned. In this respect, the independent media regulators within ERGA will continue to work closely with the European Commission. In addition, ERGA members will continue their work on disinformation, including disinformation linked to the current Russian aggression in Ukraine. A specific working group on disinformation has been set up within ERGA to exchange experience and best practice between regulators, monitoring and analyzing the media environment, with a particular focus on disinformation speeches by foreign actors and the manipulation of information in the current context.

Commenting on the new measures, Karim Ibourki, President of ERGA and the Belgian French Superior Audiovisual Council, said: "ERGA notes that these measures echo a major crisis facing Europe and the world. We have full confidence in the decisions taken by the Council, and we are aware of the seriousness of the situation. Regardless of the conflict, countering manipulation and disinformation, while respecting freedom of expression, must remain a priority in the European debate, particularly in the context of future regulations such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). We need a robust European manager to guarantee our democratic values, while securing our media and digital environment". he said.

Browse the original press release here

About ERGA:
The European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) is composed of the national regulatory authorities in the field of audiovisual media services. ERGA advises the European Commission and facilitates cooperation between regulatory bodies in the EU. Mr. Karim Ibourki, President of the Belgian French Superior Audiovisual Council (French Superior Audiovisual Council), is the current Chairman of ERGA.