IS BUILDING A EUROPEAN PUBLIC SERVICE TELEVISION POSSIBLE ?
After the Lisbon Treaty : problems and prospects

WORKING DOCUMENTS

2 - COUNCIL OF EUROPE

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PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

The funding of public service broadcasting. Recommendation 1878 (2009)
Text adopted by the Assembly on 25 June 2009 (25th Sitting)

On 25 June 2009 (25th Sitting) the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has adopted Recommandatione 1878 (2009) concerning "Finanziamento The funding of public service broadcasting. In its Conclusions:
16. The Assembly notes with interest the discussions currently held in national parliaments on the mission and funding of their public service broadcasters and calls on all member parliaments to:
16.1. ensure that their public service broadcasters have a clear mission and adequate long-term funding possibilities for fulfilling this mission in accordance with the Resolution on the future of public service broadcasting of the 4th European Ministerial Conference on Mass Media Policy (Prague, 1994);
16.2. ensure a sustainable structure of their public service broadcasters, which provides for adequate safeguards for their editorial and managerial independence in accordance with the Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation Rec(1996)10 on the guarantee of the independence of public service broadcasting;
16.3. ensure accountability of public service broadcasters including regular reviews of their public service mission and their meeting public service objectives and user demands;
16.4. ensure the allocation of adequate radio-frequency spectrum for public service broadcasters during the digital switch-over and after analogue radio-frequencies will have been switched off, in accordance with the Committee of Ministers’ Declaration of 20 February 2008 on the allocation and management of the digital dividend and the public interest;
16.5. analyse possibilities for commercial media to fulfil public service missions, for instance by providing specific audiovisual works, programmes, channels or services, and thus to receive public financial support;
16.6. ask their governments to sign and ratify the European Convention for the Protection of the Audiovisual Heritage (ETS No. 183), if they have not yet done so, and analyse possibilities for preserving the audiovisual archives of their public service broadcasters as part of cultural heritage in accordance with this convention.
17. The Assembly welcomes the Action Plan on public service media adopted by the ministers participating in the Council of Europe's Conference of Ministers responsible for Media and New Communication Services (Reykjavik, 28-29 May 2009) and invites the ministers to reaffirm at the national level:
17.1. the importance of public service media responding to their national or regional requirements through a clear mission, a sustainable structure and adequate long-term funding determined at national level;
17.2. that public service broadcasters should, in accordance with changing user demands, utilise new technologies to increase the accessibility of their services and offer new additional services including interactive and on-demand media services on all available platforms so as to reach all audiences, and in particular young people;
17.3. the importance of coordinating Europe-wide their national policies for public service broadcasting through regular ministerial meetings at the level of the Council of Europe as well as its Steering Committee for the Media and New Communication Services.
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See the full Text of this Recommandation (provisional Edition) at the link
http://assembly.coe.int/Mainf.asp?link=/Documents/AdoptedText/ta09/EREC1878.htm

Background

This Recommandation founds him on the report "The funding of public service broadcasting", compiled on the 19th March 2009 by the president of the Committee on Culture, Science and Education Rapporteur: Mr Markku LAUKKANEN, Finland, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. In his Conclusions Laukkanen observes:
National parliaments and ministers responsible for media policy should adapt the funding of public service broadcasting in their countries to the new audiovisual media environment, while safeguarding the public service mission and structure of their broadcasters and allowing them to make full use of the technological opportunities for the benefit of the public at large.

See the full text of this Report at the link http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc09/EDOC11848.htm

The Recommandation, adoptad by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 25 June 2009 (25th Sitting), recalls and deepens its recommendation 1641 adopted the Parliamentary Assembly on 17th january 2004 on "Public service broadcasting". This preceding Recommandation considers "Public service broadcasting, a vital element of democracy in Europe, is under threat. It is challenged by political and economic interests, by increasing competition from commercial media, by media concentrations and by financial difficulties. It is also faced with the challenge of adapting to globalisation and the new technologies" and "call on the governments of member states to:
a. reaffirm their commitment to maintaining a strong and vibrant independent public broadcasting service, whilst adapting it to the requirements of the digital age, for instance, on the occasion of the next European Ministerial Conference on Mass Media Policy in 2004, taking concrete steps to implement this policy objective and refrain from any interference with the editorial independence and institutional autonomy of public service broadcasters;
b. define an appropriate legal, institutional and financial framework for the functioning of public service broadcasting and its adaptation and modernisation to suit the needs of the audience and the requirements of the digital era;
c. design education and training programmes, adapted to the digital media environment, for journalists.

See the full text of the Recommandation 1641 adopted on 17th january 2001 on "Public service broadcasting" at the link http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/AdoptedText/ta04/EREC1641.htm