The European Commission publishes a Rule of Law Report based on the Media Pluralism Monitor carried out by Digilab Research Group

Two months after the publication of the Media Pluralism Monitor 2020 report, in which Digilab Research Group analysed the case of Spain, the European Commission has cited the report to describe the rule of law situation in the country.

In the Media Pluralism section of the 2020 Rule of Law Report, the EC quotes the MPM2020 to state that there is a low risk to the independence and effectiveness of the authority of the media. However, the report also underlines that, as the MPM2020 stresses, the difficulty of having a clear idea of who exactly is behind each media company and it identifies medium risk to the indicator of media pluralism.

Regarding freedom of expression, the report also claims that the Spanish Constitution protects media freedom and freedom of expression while ensuring media pluralism, although some recent legislation endangers such principles, especially in cases of defamation of public authorities and law enforcement.

In recent years an increase of hostility towards journalists has been seen as well as restrictions regarding freedom of information. It must be highlighted that the enhancement of media pluralism has been established as a priority by the President of the European Commission, who in a recent open letter mentioned the efforts made by the project led by Digilab.