The EU Media Wallet: Policy Report. Europaeum Scholars Programme

The digital transformation of the information environment has intensified financial and structural pressures on independent journalism in Europe, contributing to declining media pluralism and the spread of disinformation. These trends undermine democratic resilience, public trust, and informed civic participation, particularly among younger audiences. This policy report proposes the EU Media Wallet, a pan-European digital platform that provides streamlined access to high-quality, independent journalism on a pay-per-article basis.
The EU Media Wallet addresses barriers created by fragmented subscription models and platform-driven attention economies while supporting the financial sustainability of news organisations. A dedicated Youth News Pass targets declining news consumption among 18–24-year-olds by offering free access to selected content during a critical period of media habit formation. Positioned within existing EU policy frameworks, the proposal presents a scalable intervention to strengthen media pluralism, independent journalism, and the European digital public sphere.