Summary

European communications policy is defined as European level coordination of national policies by institutions such as the European Union (EU), Council of Europe, European Broadcasting Union, and national regulatory networks. EU initiatives are, in general, directly binding on member states comprise policies governing cross-border broadcasting (television, radio, online streaming), telecommunication services relating to media, content distribution (networks and subsidies), public service media definitions, advertising restrictions and quotas. EU initiatives are composed of four main components: legislation (directives, regulations, and decisions), soft governance (self-regulation and other forms of European level coordination), competition law and distributive policies (e.g. the MEDIA subprogram of the Creative Europe program). Directives, regulations, decisions, and competition case rulings are directly binding on member states. Soft policy coordination takes place between the European institutions and national regulatory authorities (NRAs). It is used primarily to coordinate implementation between NRAs and establish common EU positions on international platforms. It has also been instrumental in setting benchmarking exercises and the exchange of best practice in areas where there is no EU legal basis for legislation, such as media transparency, freedom, pluralism, and independence.