EU Sues Five Countries Over Media Content

The European Commission on Thursday said it had referred Czech Republic, Ireland, Romania, Slovakia and Spain to the EU Court of Justice over their failure to implement the revised directive for audiovisual media services, by the agreed-upon deadline.

The commission said it had asked for financial sanctions against the countries as they had failed to transpose the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), which sets EU-wide media content standards for all audiovisual media, by September 2020.

The Directive, which was reviewed in 2018 following intense debate between Commission legislators, reflects changes to the media market following the growth of streaming services and other online multimedia outlets and sets EU-wide media content standards for all audiovisual media.

The directive also includes a 30% quota of European productions on video-on-demand services like Netflix, in a move intended to boost European content and support local film and television industries.

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.