Media ownership rules in Europe : a focus on EU Member States' legislation on foreign ownership

Abstract

As the data from the Media Pluralism Monitor 2016 shows, EU Member States generally do not impose any restrictions on foreign ownership. That is the case for 23 countries out of 28. There are only 5 Member States that establish some kind of regulatory restriction on foreign ownership in the media sector, but in none of them do such restrictions apply to citizens or companies from EU countries, which enjoy the same rights as national citizens and companies created under the laws of the respective country. The restrictions on foreign ownership vary both in terms of percentage of capital held and the sector to which they apply.