The new European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). Upcoming changes for media mergers in Ireland

From August 2025, the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) (EU Regulation 2024/1083) will come into effect in Ireland. It will bring about a significant change in how media mergers are assessed in Ireland.

What does the EMFA do?

The main aim of the EMFA is to enhance editorial freedom and facilitate cross-boarder trade, but it also imposes an obligation on Member States to have a national regime for the assessment of deals which could have a “significant impact on media pluralism and editorial independence” (Article 22).

What is the current position with media mergers in Ireland?

Ireland has had a regime for reviewing media mergers since 2003 under the Competition Act 2002 (as amended) (Competition Act) by reference to competition and media plurality criteria.

Currently, media mergers must be notified first to the European Commission under the EU Merger Regulation (if applicable) or, if not, to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) on competition grounds. Once approved by either the Commission or CCPC, the media merger must then be notified to the Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport (Minister) on media plurality grounds. In summary, a media merger involves a merger where at least one of the undertakings involved carries out a

How will the EMFA affect media mergers in Ireland and elsewhere?

The EMFA aligns how media mergers are assessed in different Member States. Currently, there are some differences across the EU:

• Some Member States only carry out competition assessments, but others (including Ireland) already have a dedicated media mergers regime which review transactions from a media plurality perspective.
• Some media mergers are scrutinised depending on whether financial thresholds or certain qualitative criteria are met (in Ireland, unless notifiable to the Commission, there are essentially no financial thresholds for a media merger filing to the CCPC).
• The applicable procedures also vary – although they are typically carried out independently by a specific media regulator, some government Ministers or public bodies can intervene on non-economic grounds (e.g. for the protection of media pluralism, the safeguarding of public security, or other general interests).

Given this in consistency, the EMFA is seeking to improve legal certainty and assist media businesses in overcoming economic and administrative burdens. In some cases (according to Recital 63 of the EMFA), national measures can effectively prevent a media undertaking from entering another national market, which might reinforce oligopolistic dynamics in media markets. So, the EMFA sets out a common framework for assessing media mergers across the EU.

The EFMA requires Member States to have separate (non-competition) assessments of media market concentrations (“media mergers”) which could have a ‘significant impact on media pluralism and editorial independence’.

It also requires that media regulators with specific expertise in the area of media pluralism (for example in Ireland, Coimisiún na Meán), have a substantive role in the assessment of the impact of media mergers.

The EMFA does not affect the application of Article 21(4) of the EU Merger Regulation which allows Member States to adopt measures to protect legitimate interests such as plurality of media. The EFMA is also “without prejudice to more detailed national rules applicable to media market mergers occurring, in particular, at regional or local level”.

Relationship with Media Mergers Regime under the Competition Act

Generally speaking, the existing national framework for media mergers under the Competition Act is aligned with the EMFA’s overall requirement for substantive and procedural rules for the assessment of media mergers. However, there are some differences from the existing framework under the Competition Act:

Due to these differences, the Oireachtas is proposing to narrow the definition of a “media merger” under Section 28A of the Competition Act to align with the EMFA. It is likely that the new regime will focus on the Target’s activities (i.e. (i) whether it is a media services provider or website providing access to media content; and (ii) has substantial activity as a media business in the State). It is also proposed to introduce a new financial threshold element to exclude targets with limited Irish turnover.

In 2024, there were 3 media mergers notified to the CCPC, 2 were cleared following a phase 1 investigation and 1 was cleared following a phase 2 investigation. This was down slightly from 2023 where 5 media mergers were notified to the CCPC.

Under the EMFA regime, the notification requirement will only apply to mergers that could have a “significant impact”, so it may be that certain media acquisitions will fall outside the scope of the new regime e.g. where the target does not have any meaningful activity in Ireland. However, transactions may only be caught where just one party is involved in a media business in Ireland, and that definition of “media” will be broader as a result of the EMFA. So, this means that purchaser with no media businesses acquiring a media business in Ireland is likely to be caught by the new regime where it has a “significant impact” on media pluralism and editorial independence.

In simple terms, any party contemplating a transaction involving just a single media business in Ireland should bear the new regime in mind.

Implementation in Ireland

The provisions relevant to media mergers are set to apply from 8 August 2025.

The EFMA is an EU Regulation so it is directly applicable in Ireland from that date though some elements do require transposition into Irish law – for example it requires changes to be made to the existing media mergers regime in Ireland, and requires significant policy changes on the allocation of public funds for State advertising.

A new “Media Regulation Bill” forms part of the Government’s Spring 2025 legislative programme and is currently in “heads in preparation” stage. There may also be some interplay with the Screening of Third Country Transactions Act 2023 which has pluralism of the media as one of its sectors of relevance from a security or public order in Ireland perspective.

Concluding comments

We await the exact transposition of the EMFA by the Government but we can say at this stage that there will be some important changes to the Irish media mergers system and - in particular -  a notification will be required where only one of the parties carries on a media business and it has a “significant impact” on media pluralism and editorial independence. In this regard, the transition to this new framework may give rise to a number of issues which will require attention by the legislature such as defining ‘Substantial Activity’. One approach may be to favour a financial threshold compared to a market share threshold, as a financial threshold can provide more clarity and consistency when determining if the media company has engaged in ‘substantial activity’.

For more information please contact Alan McCarthy, Richard Hourihan or any member of A&L Goodbody's EU, Competition & Procurement team.

Date published: 6 June 2026