The Council of Europe, represented by its Freedom of Expression and CDMSI Division and the Division for Cooperation on Freedom of Expression, participated as an observer in the 64th meeting of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA), held in Dublin from 14 to 16 October 2026 and hosted by Coimisiún na Meán.

The meeting brought together 149 participants, including media regulatory authorities, international organisations and other stakeholders, to discuss declining trust in media and the protection of children and young people online.

During the dedicated observers’ session, representatives presented recent standards, policy work and cooperation activities on information integrity, media pluralism and online safety.

The discussions highlighted the CDMSI policy document Resisting Disinformation – Ten Building Blocks to Strengthen Information Integrity and ongoing initiatives to safeguard independent and pluralistic public service media. On online safety, attention was drawn to the Recommendation Online Safety and Empowerment of Users and Content Creators and the policy document on National Media and Information Literacy Strategies. These initiatives stress the need to combine protection and empowerment with freedom of expression, particularly for children and young people.

Ongoing work by the expert committees was also discussed, notably MSI-eREG, which is developing guidance on the evolving role, independence and capacities of media regulators in a platform-based environment, and MSI-ePLU, which addresses challenges in safeguarding media pluralism online.

Forthcoming activities under the cooperation programmes on freedom of expression were also presented, including peer exchanges among media regulatory authorities facing similar challenges. These initiatives aim to facilitate the sharing of good practices, strengthen regulatory capacities and foster dialogue across Europe. Updates also covered planned training materials on media coverage of elections and new cooperation initiatives expected to launch in 2027.

The exchanges reinforced the value of continued dialogue with EPRA and its members in promoting a free, pluralistic, trustworthy and safer information environment across Europe.