Case Against the Jornal at the European Commission

On the 22^nd of April the Diário de Notícias launched a case at the European Commission’s Competition Directorate against the illegal state aid provided by the Regional Government of Madeira to finance the government-owned newspaper, Jornal da Madeira. It claims the state aid violates competition rules and allows for the Government to finance a newspaper, which is distributed for free, with the intent of causing financial difficulties to rival newspapers.

The Jornal had already been admonished by the Portuguese Competition Authority, the Press Regulation Entity and the Portuguese Parliament’s Commission of Ethics, Culture and Society to adopt measures to safeguard fair and just competition and the freedom of information of the press, all to no avail.