President Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday that in the crucial and highly creative field of the media, the role of public broadcasting remains prominent and the Government provides the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) with financial means in order to be apt to operate autonomously and to have its own administration, without any intervention. Addressing the assembly of the Directors of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), taking place in the coastal town of Limassol, the President said this the EBU is the world's leading alliance of public service media. Undoubtedly, he added, technological advances have created an entirely new landscape in the field of information and this often this acts as a doble edge sword: on the one hand it wipes out conceptions such as time and space, but at the same time, it affects, often in an unruly manner, core ethical principles that you serve, such as the accuracy of information, the respect for privacy, the protection of human dignity and many more. The Preside nt said that the affliction of fake news and the manipulation of public opinion by state or private as well as other non-institutional power centres are great challenges discussed at the European Union leadership level, precisely because they affect our democracies and touch upon the core of our common values and of our people, like freedom of speech, unhindered information flow and the exchange of ideas. "In this crucial and highly creative field of the media, the role of public broadcasting remains prominent as its primary task is to provide quality information and entertainment to citizens. As regards Cyprus", he added, "the government provides the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) with financial means in order to be apt to operate autonomously and to have its own administration, without any intervention. For us, the CyBC and the media in general, are an integral part of the pillar of democracy and are valued means in the promotion of freedom". At the same time, the officials and executives of the C yBC can attest that they are encouraged at every opportunity to manage the driving forces of public broadcasting in Cyprus by granting an open platform for public debate. Public broadcasting, said the President, has a vital role to play in Cyprus, a member state of the European Union that is under military occupation by Turkey over the last 50 years. The CyBC, he added, "is far more than television and radio. It is an institution which predates the independence and establishment of the Republic of Cyprus and has been broadcasted all of the country's milestones over the past decades". CyBC is also the voice of Cyprus abroad and unites the country with the Diaspora in every corner of the world and at the same time, the CyBC has been an active EBU member since 1969, President Christodoulides added. Regarding the work done by the EBU, he said he is "very well aware of the excellent work that is done at European level through the EBU as well as of the excellent services you offer, particularly in matters relati ng to European activities. In this framework, the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2026, will be a flagship event". Source: Cyprus News Agency