Council conclusions on the assessment of the legal framework for audiovisual media services and video-sharing platform services

Official Journal of the European Union EN C series C/2025/2954 26.5.2025 Council conclusions on the assessment of the legal framework for audiovisual media services and video-sharing platform services (C/2025/2954) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Recalling the reference documents set out in the Annex (1), RECOGNISES THAT: 1. The Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) (2) is the main legal act regulating the EU audiovisual media market. Following its amendment in 2018, it has also covered video-sharing platform services (VSP services) and established the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA), a highly qualified body composed of representatives of national regulatory authorities. 2. The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) (3) additionally underlines the unique role of media services. EMFA establishes the European Board for Media Services (‘the Board’), which replaces and succeeds ERGA, and is tasked with promoting the consistent and effective application of the AVMSD and EMFA. EMFA also recalls the fact that the protection of media freedom and media pluralism are two of the main pillars of democracy. 3. Legal clarity as well as simple and coherent rules are important for all audiovisual media service (AVMS) providers and video-sharing platform (VSP) providers. The relationship between the AVMSD and other relevant EU legal acts, in particular the Digital Services Act (DSA) (4) and the E-Commerce Directive (ECD) (5), should be clear....