During the public hearing that took place in association with the Committees on Culture and on the Internal Market, MEPs exchanged views with experts and stakeholders.

Panel 1

Marie FRENAY, Member of Cabinet of Commission Vice-President Jourová, presented the proposed regulation, highlighting that this type of legal instrument is the right one to avoid fragmentation in implementation, and to speed up the process. Patrick PENNINCKX, Head of Information Society Department of the Council of Europe, spoke on the complementarity between the new EU framework and CoE work, highlighting that rules are urgently needed, but that their proper implementation is equally important, while warning against the risk of overreach. Renate SCHROEDER, Director of the European Federation of Journalists, focused on the need for legal clarity and concrete definitions in the rules, asked for provisions on the protection of sources and from surveillance to be strengthened, and clarified the situation as regards interference in editorial independence.

Panel 2

Plamen ANGELOV, Head of Activity for JHA matters at the European Data Protection Supervisor, spoke on the scope of the new rules in relation to the role of journalists, the need for even stronger legal language on surveillance, and the importance of appropriate institutional oversight. Anna WOJCIK, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Legal Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, focused on potential flaws in the structures and roles…