Resolution on Audiovisual Media Services Directive obligations in the transatlantic dialogue

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Audiovisual Media Services Directive obligations in the transatlantic dialogue.

The resolution highlighted that the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) is the cornerstone of the EU’s audiovisual policy, aiming to create a single market for audiovisual media services in the EU while promoting cultural diversity. It should remain the key legal framework for supporting a diverse, fair, safe and competitive audiovisual media market in the EU and promoting independent and culturally rich European content.

The resolution noted that in recent US-EU/transatlantic trade dialogue the US administration labelled the AVMSD as a trade barrier. According to Parliament, the US administration’s designation is based on a flawed assessment, given that the directive’s provisions apply in a neutral and non-discriminatory manner to all operators, both domestic and foreign, thereby ensuring fair competition and a level playing field.

The exclusion of audiovisual media services from the scope of trade negotiations is crucial for the EU and its Member States to preserve and strengthen their capacity to design and implement cultural and audiovisual policies aimed at promoting and protecting cultural diversity.

Against this background, Parliament called on the Council and the Member States to support the Commission in defending the AVMSD. It urged the Commission to firmly reject any attempt to consider the AVMSD a trade distortion, and to defend it as a legitimate regulatory instrument that is essential for ensuring the protection of the EU’s cultural diversity, sovereignty and soft power, both in the negotiation and implementation of trade agreements with the United States and in the framework of the evaluation and potential revision of the AVSMD in 2026.