The European Commission voiced their first clear public criticism of the United News telethon and said that Ukraine should work on restoring a pluralistic media landscape, reports European Pravda, citing the European Commission's Enlargement Package report on the progress of the candidate states, including Ukraine, IMI writes.

One of the critical remarks from Brussels concerns the funding of the United News telethon from the state budget. The report also raises doubts about the telethon's objectiveness.

"In 2023, the Ukrainian government invested public funds into the TV marathon project. It should be reassessed whether this is the best platform for enabling a free exchange of views among Ukrainians," reads the report.

The Commission also criticized the Rada TV channel, saying that "the main objective of Parliament’s media channel should be to share information on parliamentary business, including the work of representatives of the parliamentary opposition. Rada TV has been criticized for insufficient representation of the opposition and for not resuming the livestreams of parliamentary sessions, which were cancelled in 2022.

The document is part of the European Commission's annual report on all candidate states, including Ukraine. It contains analysis of the states' adherence to the fundamental EU values, including respect for freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

The European Commission also outlines the tasks for the candidate states for the near future.

The EU expects Ukraine to "continue its efforts to maintain and gradually restore a transparent, pluralistic and independent media landscape," gradually lifting the restrictions; this expectation is not contingent on the end of martial law.