In brief, the complexity created by a patchwork of different national rules and the fact that in each country the media market and/or the public service media are coming under increasing political pressure discourages companies from entering new markets, in particular where subjects holding shares in a media undertaking also play a significant role in the political arena. This justifies the full competence of the Union to take action through an approximation of national laws (arts. 26, 50 and 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). As a general rule, in shaping these new provisions, the Union is required to uphold the highest protection to fundamental rights as guaranteed by the EU legal order, in particular the freedom of information as enshrined in Article 11 of the Charter.
For the above-mentioned reasons, the signatories of this initiative believe that the harmonisation of rules on pro%C