Media Ownership Concentration and Pluralism In The European Union: An Assessment Within The Framework Of EMFA

Media ownership concentration threatens media freedom and pluralism by enabling economic and political influence over editorial decisions and information flow. Regulatory differences among EU member states cause legal uncertainty, especially for cross-border media activities, hindering the internal media market. To tackle this, the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) establishes a regulatory framework to strengthen media pluralism, editorial independence, and ownership transparency. This study uses qualitative methods, including literature review and document analysis, to assess how EMFA addresses ownership concentration and its impact on media pluralism in the EU, with focus on Turkey’s alignment with EU regulations. Findings reveal EMFA’s key innovations: mandatory transparency, protections against political interference, and fair state advertising allocation. The European Board for Media Services’ creation marks a key institutional advance. However, limitations exist, notably the advisory nature of some rules and lack of binding enforcement, which may reduce long-term effectiveness. These raise questions about EMFA’s ability to ensure consistent application