America News Agency

The report highlights that due to weak ownership transparency rules, increasing government influence over public media, and threats against journalists, media freedom and pluralism are "under attack across the EU and, in some cases, facing an existential battle."

The report’s chief editor, Jonathan Day, said: "This is not surprising. Governments' efforts to weaken the rule of law and democratic institutions almost always begin by trying to control their country’s media landscape."

Day noted that the European Media Freedom Act (Emfa), the EU's initiative to protect media freedom, "is facing resistance even before fully coming into effect." He added: "The success of the Act’s implementation could be a turning point for media freedom in some member states."

The report also points out concerns over excessive media ownership concentration particularly in Croatia, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden, often concentrated in the hands of a few extremely wealthy individuals.