The European Broadcasting Union has expressed concern over the establishment of a Spanish Senate committee of inquiry into RTVE.
The committee, due to be constituted on April 28, is expected to examine the public broadcaster’s editorial practices and governance.
The EBU said it recognises the importance of checks and balances, but warned that RTVE is already subject to oversight mechanisms requiring transparency and accountability in line with Council of Europe standards.
It said concerns had been raised about the risk of editorial decisions being judged against criteria outside established professional standards, without a clearly defined purpose or proportionate follow-up.
The EBU said RTVE’s independence is vital to Europe’s public media ecosystem and warned that politicisation would pose a direct threat to democratic access to trusted journalism, particularly amid rising misinformation and disinformation.
The organisation added that it will continue to monitor developments in Spain and remains open to engagement to ensure alignment with European legislation and public service media principles.
