News Media Europe met in Budapest on Wednesday with their Hungarian colleagues to share views and experiences in promoting media freedom. Delegates expressed great concern about the pressure on the freedom of the press in Europe and beyond.

News Media Europe President Fernando de Yarza said: “Media freedom is a cornerstone of democracy and should be safeguarded at all time. It is important the news media industry sticks together in good and in bad times”.

Tibor Kovács, Chairman of Magyar Lapkiadók Egyesülete, the Hungarian Publishers’ association, commented: “We do believe that only the free and independent media sector is a guarantee for a healthy democracy. This freedom must be guaranteed by the legal, economic, political environment. Without media to report, scrutinize and debate important issues our democracies cannot continue to flourish. In Hungary the recently raised advertising tax harms the quantity and quality of accessible Hungarian-language media. We highlight again that players such as Google and Facebook can avoid taxation of their digital advertising revenue and media are among the businesses most affected by this unfair competition”. 

About News Media Europe:

News Media Europe (NME) represents European publishers worth over 12 billion euros and nearly 2200 titles both on printing and digital platforms. NME’s national members include Belgium (Flanders), Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, The Netherlands, Norway, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom. News Media Europe is the association of news publishers who fully embrace today’s digital revolution – which ultimately represents the future of the press and news media sector.

For further information please contact:

Wout van Wijk, Executive Director, wout.vanwijk@newsmediaeurope.eu

Francesco Vinci, Policy Advisor, francesco.vinci@newsmediaeurope.eu

newsmediaeurope.eu

Tw: @NewsmediaEU