Media Capture Monitoring Report: Greece 2025

Measuring EMFA Compliance: Can EMFA Capture-Proof the Greek Media?

This page presents the 2025 Media Capture Monitoring Report: Greece, an annual assessment by the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC) that measures Greece’s compliance with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and identifies key media capture risks.

Download full report
Project main page

Executive Summary

Although the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) legally entered into force on 8 August 2025, Greece has made only limited progress toward implementation. Core issues persist across regulatory governance, public service media independence, state advertising, and ownership transparency. A draft law including EMFA-related provisions was submitted to public consultation in October 2025, but its final impact remains uncertain.

Greece’s National Council for Radio and Television (NCRTV) is formally an independent regulator, yet appointment procedures allow significant political influence. Members are selected through a parliamentary process dominated by the ruling party, while existing rules lack transparent, merit-based criteria. The regulator also remains under-resourced and limited in scope, with key broadcasting powers assigned to government structures rather than the regulator itself.

Public service media, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) and the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA), continue to operate under varying degrees of political supervision. Leadership changes continue to follow electoral cycles, and oversight by the Prime Minister’s Office raises concerns regarding editorial independence, pluralism and institutional autonomy.

The allocation of state advertising remains opaque and inconsistently monitored. While general procurement rules apply, Greece lacks EMFA-aligned mechanisms ensuring objective and transparent distribution. Historical cases, including the Petsas List, illustrate how public funding may influence editorial positioning. Attempts to modernize transparency mechanisms, such as the e-Pasithea platform, have progressed but remain incomplete and not publicly accessible.

Media ownership transparency is partially grounded in law, yet enforcement remains inconsistent. Greece’s media system is characterized by high levels of cross-ownership among politically connected business elites, with market concentration increasing following new acquisitions. Beneficial ownership data is often incomplete or inaccessible, and no systematic monitoring body ensures timely publication of information.

Overall, Greece remains not aligned with EMFA across the four core areas: independence of media regulators, public service media governance, state advertising transparency, and ownership disclosure and pluralism.

Explore the data

Media capture mechanisms and safeguards

The table below summarises the key media capture mechanisms as well as the existence and enforcement of legal safeguards, and their alignment with the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) identified in the countries covered by the project. To see Greece, click on the respective country tab.

Questions & Answers

This section provides short, structured answers to key questions arising from the Greece 2025 Media Capture Monitoring Report. These entries support journalists, policymakers, researchers and educators who need fast, clear access to findings without reading the full report.

What is the core finding of the report?

Greece has made only limited progress toward alignment with EMFA. Structural weaknesses allow continued political influence over regulators, public service media, and distribution of state funding. 

Why is EMFA implementation stalled?

Reforms are still at draft stage, and long-standing politicisation of governance structures has slowed institutional changes. 

How independent is the media regulator (NCRTV)?

Not independent in practice. Appointment procedures are politically driven, the scope of NCRTV’s authority is limited, and resourcing remains insufficient. 

How are regulatory appointments carried out?

Members are selected by a parliamentary body in which the ruling party holds a majority, without transparent or competitive public procedures. 

Does NCRTV have the resources needed to oversee EMFA compliance?

No. The regulator lacks staffing, financial stability, independent oversight mechanisms, and timely reporting capacity. 

What is the situation of public service media (ERT and ANA-MPA)?

PSM remain vulnerable to political influence, including supervision by the Prime Minister’s Office and routine leadership changes aligned with government transitions. 

Is public service media funding independent and predictable?

Partially. Funding exists but lacks safeguards protecting against political intervention or editorial leverage. 

How transparent is state advertising?

Regulation exists but implementation is weak. Transparency tools such as e-Pasithea remain incomplete or inaccessible to the public. 

How transparent is media ownership?

Partial. Legal obligations exist, but enforcement remains inconsistent and beneficial ownership data is often missing or delayed. 

What is the dominant systemic risk?

A reinforcing model combining regulatory influence, politicised public broadcasting, opaque state funding, and concentrated private ownership.

What key reforms does the report recommend?

The report calls for strengthening ownership transparency and monitoring mechanisms, transparent, depoliticised NCRTV appointment processes, ending political supervision of ERT and ANA-MPA, and establishing EMFA-aligned oversight of state advertising.

Resources & Reference Materials

Citation

Maragoudaki, D. (2025). Media Capture Monitoring Report: Greece 2025. Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC): London/Tallinn/Santiago de Compostela. International Press Institute (IPI): Vienna.