The newly released Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM), an annual report by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom at the EUI, finds media pluralism continues to decline across Europe. This trend is marked by the overall vulnerability of news media business models, growing tensions between big tech and media, and an increased concentration of the media market, which is associated with an ongoing decline in the number of employed journalists.
This year, Hungary is the worst-performing EU country in terms of media pluralism, followed closely by Malta and Cyprus where pluralism is also at high risk. Most EU Member States are associated with a medium risk, with ten countries in the medium-high risk band. Only two Member States—Sweden and Germany, are classified as low risk, underscoring that risks to media pluralism remain widespread across the European Union.
A general concern is the growing concentration of both traditional media markets and the digital environment. These dynamics are not only being replicated online but are also reinforced by it. Indicators assessing market power (covering both concentration of media ownership and control over digital distribution channels) place a significant number of Member States at a high or very high-risk. Very large online platforms, search engines, and emerging AI-driven content aggregators, which shape access to news and information in Europe, are in the hands of a few owners.
Vulnerabilities in media business models and broader media economics negatively affect newsroom’s editorial independence from commercial and ownership influence. In fact, two-thirds of EU Member States are assessed as medium-high risk or above, signaling newsroom autonomy remains under pressure.
At the individual level, journalists and media organisations continue to face vexatious lawsuits, particularly when reporting on corruption, government practices and environmental issues. Despite the deadline for transposing the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive having passed on 7 May 2026, only eight Member States—Cyprus, Finland, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia and Sweden—have implemented the new rules so far.
Legal pressure is not the only threat to journalists. The growing sophistication of surveillance technologies has intensified concerns about the confidentiality of journalistic communications and sources. The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) establishes a strong baseline prohibition on the use of spyware against journalists and those connected to them. However, the effectiveness of these safeguards will depend on how Member States interpret exceptions related to serious crime and national security. Critics warn that overly broad interpretations could, in practice, weaken protections and reopen the door to intrusive surveillance measures.
“As tensions between big tech companies and media grow, and media ownership becomes more concentrated, keeping information independent remains a key challenge for democratic societies. With the European Media Freedom Act now in force since August 2025, it is time to start to evaluate how it is implemented in practice across Europe. The Monitor, which has already helped establish a common European language for discussing media pluralism, will do this closely", said Pier Luigi Parcu, Director of the EUI’s Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom.
The Monitor report features a series of actionable recommendations to governments, European Institutions, media authorities and civil society organisations to improve protection of media pluralism across Europe. In addition to the general MPM report, researchers have prepared 31 reports specifically focusing on the EU27 and candidate countries, which are also available in their respective national languages. Each country is assessed based on the average risk score for different indicators.
For more information, including country-specific reports and an interactive map, visit the CMPF website.
Watch this #EUIResearch video, where the Deputy Director of the EUI’s Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom, Elda Brogi, discusses how the Media Pluralism Monitor measures the state of media with a genuinely holistic approach.
The Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) is an independent project co-funded by the European Commission and implemented by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) at the EUI’s Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. Key findings from this year's report will be presented at the Media Pluralism Monitor 2026 Final Conference on 29 June 2026, from 14:00 to 17:45 CEST. The event can be followed in person or online.