The EU and the press: policy or non-policy?

Several aspects of the current situation of the newspaper press in the EU are discussed, and attention is drawn to significant economic and social trends. The reluctance of the Commission to deal with the issues of pluralism and concentration of ownership is noted, and the impact of other EU interventions and non-EU interventions on the operations of the press in the countries of the Union is considered. It is suggested that the EU will increasingly have to engage in debate on the limits on free speech and, in that context, an analysis of the reactions to the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad by a Danish newspaper in 2005 is offered. Finally, it is suggested that non-intervention may not be a sustainable policy.