Defending Democracy through EU Media Regulation: A Constitutional Appraisal
The EU faces growing threats to democracy, including the rise of far-right governments and foreign political interferences. The media sector is particularly vulnerable to global disinformation, and journalists have faced legal harassment, or even assassination, as seen in Malta, Slovakia or Greece. In response, the EU has taken an increasingly interventionist role, adopting media legislation aimed at defending the value of democracy enshrined in Article 2 TEU. The adoption of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), the Political Advertising Regulation, and the Anti-SLAPP Directive epitomises this shift. This project examines whether these recent EU legislation on media can be conceptualised as “militant democracy”, broadly defined as democratic self-defence, and assesses the balance struck between the EU’s defence of democracy through media regulation and its constitutional principles. From a conceptual standpoint, this research would reassess the militant democracy applied to the EU by reflecting on the democratic self-defence nature of EU media legislation. Furthermore, it aims to highlight the specificity of these legislation, in comparison with the EU protection of the rule of law within Member States. Finally, this project aims at assessing the constitutional tensions surrounding EU media regulation.
