Institutionalization of the Freedom of the press and media plurality in the EU

The subject of the article is the process of the institutionalization of freedom of the press and media pluralism within the European Union. The presented study is mainly explanatory. It utilizes the foundational concept of institutionalization, which is discussed in the first part of the text. An overview of EU activity in the sphere of freedom of the press and media pluralism was conducted with the use of instructional-legal analysis. Certain norms, institutions, projects and initiatives were accepted, appointed, or implemented within the framework of the EU. The study confirms the hypothesis proposing that the institutionalization process of the freedom of the press and media pluralism in the EU leads to the creation of union and federal rules of function for media, supplemented by international and national regulations in individual member states. The study also verifies the hypothesis that the process of institutionalization of the freedom of press and media pluralism is dynamic, occurring in two spheres: the normative and axiological. Moreover, the process of institutionalization does not occur at the same pace. Developed, effective ways of the execution of the methods and range of implementation of EU solutions regarding the legislative bodies of member states have created effective normative institutionalization. In comparison, axiological institutionalization occurs at a slower pace.