Citizens of the European Union, who are taking part in the Conference on the Future of Europe (COFOE), propose the introduction of stricter control over the ownership of the media as a tool in the fight against fake news.

Participants in the COFOE panel on democracy and the rule of law in the EU have held three sessions over the last months and made 39 recommendations. Some of those recommendations were presented on Friday, the first day of the two-day 3rd plenary session which is taking place in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Representatives of the panel on democracy and the rule of law highlighted the importance of media pluralism and of the efforts to fight fake news and misinformation.

They call on the European Union to strictly implement the market competition rules in the media space so as to avert big media monopolies. Participants believe that media outlets should not befall under the clout of big business stakeholders. They also demand that the EU prevent political appointments in the management boards of media houses.

One of the tools in the fight against fake news should be a digital fact-check platform that ought to be connected with EU institutions and serve as a platform through which citizens can send inquiries and receive answers from relevant sources.

After Friday’s presentation of the recommendations on the themes “European democracy” and “Values and rights, rule of law, security”, on Saturday, the last day of the Strasbourg meeting, the presentation of the Recommendations by European Citizens’ Panel 3 and related National Panels, organised in two distinct presentations and debates: “Climate change and the environment” and “Health” is on the agenda.