"This declaration serves as a reminder that culture, cultural heritage and media policies must be a vital part of the European collaboration and European security in order to protect our democracies. We commit to upholding cultural diversity, artistic freedom and supporting media pluralism and freed ... om at both national and European level. We also recognise the need for guaranteeing citizens’ access to trustworthy news media and to equip them with the digital skills and critical thinking abilities needed to navigate a digitised information landscape. In this light, we agree to the following guiding principles: • Our citizens must live in societies with free and independent cultural life. • Our citizens must live in societies where culture and cultural heritage is safeguarded for the benefit of society today and for future generations. • Our citizens must have access to reliable information and to an information environment free of foreign interference. • Our citizens must live in societies with free, resilient and independent media. • Our citizens must be able to participate in public debate and democratic conversations. • Our citizens – especially our children - must be presented with and have access to free and diverse European content. • Our citizens must be protected against digital replicas of their personal characteristics without consent." (Page 2) more

"The Council of the European Union [...] invites the Commission and member states, within their areas of competence and in due compliance with the principle of subsidiarity, to: 42. continue and undertake further efforts in terms of a systematic, comprehensive and cross-sectoral approach to developi ... ng media literacy and raising awareness of the importance of media literacy; national efforts undertaken in this perspective, including funding initiatives, should be accompanied at EU level; 43. foster better use of the possibilities offered by EU funds and EU programmes to support media education and diverse media literacy projects and initiatives (e.g. support for the media through the Creative Europe programme, in particular the new action on support for the media) and to develop additional funding sources as well as create synergies between the relevant EU programmes; 44. ensure that media literacy measures targeting minors under the Better Internet for Children Strategy keep pace with the continuously evolving digital environment; 45. finance and foster systematic and regular research into media literacy and the impact of media and digital platforms (e. g. systematic research on media literacy measures and initiatives; research into the influence of new media and communication platforms on well-being of citizens; research into the operation of algorithms and AI and their influence on public opinion, people’s lives, and media consumption, as well as on the European media and audiovisual industry); 46. support the audiovisual industry in developing quality European content and distribution platforms, taking into account the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the audiovisual sector in general; 47. encourage platforms and media outlets to cooperate on the development of tools and processes that promote the visibility and findability of quality news sources, along with the visibility and findability of quality European audiovisual content." (Page 26) more