[Media-watch] European Parliament votes on report regarding freedom of expression and media pluralism

[Deirdre Kevin]

The European Parliament voted yesterday on a report regarding freedom of
expression and media
pluralism which will request that the European Commission address this
issue at the European level,
most likely to establish some directive which obliges member states to
protect media diversity, to
have media pluralism specifications within competition law, and to
prevent the recurrence of the
situation in Italy where the Prime Minister owns the main commercial
broadcaster, and as head of
Government can influence the activities of the PSB (RAI). Between them,
these two channels have a 90.8%
audience share (February 2004). Some of the problems in Italy have
included the management of RAI
taking certain programmes off the air, i.e. ‘Il Fatto” and “Sciuscià”
or  temporarily suspending the
satirical programme “Raiot” on RAI3, as well as decisions like the
refusal to provide live coverage
of the peace demonstration in Rome on 15 February 2003. The proposed new
media bill (Gasparri Bill)
intends to abolish antitrust rules between the press and the television
sector, which in practice,
due to the advertising revenues and the financial resources, it is more
likely that television companies
will be investing in the press sector, rather than the other way around.
The Gasparri bill also proposes the
gradual privatisation of the PSB.

The EP report is partly based on a study carried out at the EIM, and
also on recommendations of the
Council of Europe, European Parliament, European Federation of
Journalists.
The EIM expertise is now being developed as an Interim report and will
be available from the beginning
of May looking at: France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Malta, the Netherlands, Poland
Spain, Sweden and the UK.

There is a limit to what can be achieved at the European level, given
that media ownership rules and
media markets are so varied in the member states of the EU. Also,
politically, there has always been
opposition to the EU acting in this area which is considered a national
competence. Not least because
strong media actors at the national level play an important role in the
lives of political actors.

Additionally, the European Commission (the driver of legislation) must
respond to the European
Parliament request to act, but are under no obligation to prepare a
directive in this area.
There will be European Parliament elections this year, and also a new
Commission will be named.
It is likely that the issue will be picked up again in the new session
of the parliament.

Press Release from European Parliament:
Citizens' Rights

 Risks of violation, in the EU and especially in Italy, of freedom of
expression and information


          Johanna BOOGERD-QUAAK (ELDR, NL)
          Report on the risks of violation, in the EU and especially in
Italy, of freedom of expression and information (Article 11(2) of the
Charter of Fundamental Rights)
          (2003/2237(INI))
          Doc.: A5-0230/2004
          Procedure : Own-initiative
          Debate : 20.04.2004
          Vote: 22.04.2004

          Vote

Parliament adopted today a highly controversial report on freedom of
expression and information by 237 votes in favour to 24 against with 14
abstentions. Before the vote two  political groups, EPP-ED and UEN,
declared that they would not participate in protest against the voting
procedure to be followed.

 Before this vote MEPs rejected a request to refer the report back to
the committee by 214 to 259 against with 1 abstention.

  One of the controversial points of the own-initiative report by
Johanna BOOGERD-QUAAK (ELDR, NL) was the reference made to named
persons. President Pat COX ruled that references to named persons should
be deleted from the report in accordance with standard parliamentary
practice.

 In this report Parliament stressed that a free and pluralist media is
essential to freedom of expression and information. It goes on to
consider that where Member States fail to take adequate measures the EU
has a political, moral and legal obligation to ensure within its
competence that media pluralism is respected.

 MEPs took the view that there are sufficient concerns to warrant a
detailed examination of the situation by the Commission, which should be
followed by appropriate legislative proposals. A preliminary study
carried out by the European Institute for the Media (EIM) showed that in
each of the eight countries examined (France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
 Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and UK) there were issues which required
further investigation. The complete study by the EIM is due in June and
will contain final comparative conclusions based on the situation in all
25 Member States.

As regards the situation in Member States Parliament noted inter alia
that:

   in France, there were several violations of press freedom (e.g. the
destruction of the print-run of a new free daily by the Unions, and of
journalists being under pressure from the police);
    in Ireland, there was absence of level playing field due to the
payment of VAT on Irish newspapers but no VAT on the UK newspapers,
which have approximately 25 per cent of the Irish market;
   in Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court found that surveillance
of telecommunications (i.e. tracing of journalists' phone calls) did not
constitute a breach of  constitutional liberties as provided for in
articles of the Basic Law, which guarantee confidentiality of
information.
  in Poland, there are currently no provisions (and no apparent plans to
introduce provisions) in Polish media law regarding media concentration
and the protection of pluralism;
  in the Netherlands, there is a high level of concentration in both
television and press sectors where the three main suppliers control at
least 85 per cent of the market and that, although the Netherlands has
the highest penetration of cable TV services in Europe, this market is
also dominated by three major cable operators;
   in Sweden, the media is characterised by a fairly high degree of
cross-media ownership, interlocking ownership structures between major
players in the audiovisual field and cooperating agreements between the
press and broadcasting industry where companies in both sectors are
controlled by the same group;  in the United Kingdom, there is intense
debate following the Hutton Report into the circumstances surrounding
the death of David Kelly, the criticism by the  public-service
broadcaster of the reasons put forward by the government for the war in
Iraq, the resignation of the Director-General and the Chairman of the
Board of Governors and the potential ramifications for the practice of
investigative journalism and, separately, there is much debate
concerning the review of the BBC's Charter and Agreement, which is
considered a model for other systems;
   In Spain, government pressure on the public service broadcaster TVE
meant that it ignored the facts regarding responsibility for the
terrorist attacks of 11 March.

  As regards Italy, Parliament said "there could be a risk of breaches
of the right to freedom of expression and information". Parliament noted
that "the level of concentration of  the television market is currently
the highest within Europe...One of the sectors in which the conflict of
interest is most obvious is advertising". It noted "therefore,that the
Italian system presents an anomaly owing to a unique combination of
economic, political and media power in the hands of one man - the
current President of the Italian Council of Ministers".
 MEPs invite the Italian Parliament to "accelerate its work on the
reform of the audiovisual sector in accordance with the recommendations
of the Italian constitutional court and the President of the Republic,
taking account of the provisions in the Gasparri bill which are
incompatible with Community law, as noted by those authorities".
MEPs voiced concern that the situation in Italy could arise in other
Member States if a media magnate chose to enter politics.

 MEPs made a number of recommendations. They called on the Commission to
draw up a directive to safeguard media pluralism in Europe. MEPs believe
protection of media diversity should become the priority of EU
competition law and the dominant position of a media company should be
considered as an obstacle to media pluralism in the EU.
Legislation should be adopted at EU level to prohibit political figures
from having major economic interests in the media.

In addition, an annual report on pluralism should be drawn up. The EU
Constitution should contain a provision on the need to ensure pluralism
in the media. Member States should incorporate in their constitutions an
active duty to promote respect for freedom and diversity of the media.

          Press enquiries:
          Pia Siitonen
          (Strasbourg) tel.(33-3) 881 73612
          (Brussels)  tel.(32-2) 28 41498
          e-mail :   libe-press at europarl.eu.int



Press release from EU observer
MEPs criticise Berlusconi's hold over Italian media

  EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Parliament today adopted
  a report on media freedom, which castigates Italy's Premier Silvio
Berlusconi's hold over the country's media.

 Approval of the report came despite manoeuvres by centre-right MEPs to
block the report.

 The report, which calls on the Commission to bring forward legislation
to tackle media concentration in Europe, was adopted by 237 votes to 24
with 14 abstentions.

But members from the centre-right parties did not participate in the
vote.

 "The European Peoples Party's unprecedented decision not to participate
in the final vote on the report shows that this grand
 party has lost the European soul of its founders and put itself at the
service of national delegations. Silvio Berlusconi has
 apparently taken the EPP hostage", the co-chair of the Green party
Monica Frassoni said.

Italian Forza Italia members - which form part of the EPP - and the
Union for Europe of the Nations Group, in which there
are members from Alleanza Nazionale tabled most of the 338 amendments to
the report, which risked delaying the report's
 adoption.

Although the report does not focus entirely on Italy, it places
particular emphasis on the media situation of this country.

MEPs raised concerns over Silvio Berlusconi's increase in controlling
shares in the largest private television group in Italy,
 Mediaset.

   "The situation is particularly serious in Italy, but the British
people also know only too well the unhealthy control which a
 media mogul can exert over a country's politics and media", Liberal
leader in the European Parliament Graham Watson said.


 "The European Union often preaches to candidate countries and
developing countries about the importance of free media - it's
  time we practised what we preach at home".

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--
Deirdre Kevin
Project Manager
European Institute for the Media
Zollhof 2a, D-40221 Duesseldorf
Germany / Tel:  +49 211 90104 75/ Fax: +49 211 90104 56
http://www.eim.org

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