Gerardo Mombelli
Chairman of Infocivica, Rome
 Real-time summary:
The second part of the morning began with the intervention of Gerardo Mombelli , the President of Infocivica , who pointed out that the European Group of Turin had been set up the previous evening, as formalized in the promulgation of a letter to Barroso, the President of the European Commission. On a personal level Mombelli wanted to emphasize that the political reality of our countries and that of the European Union is more complex than it is usually understood to be. Some of the problems addressed in the discussions today relate to intergovernmental cooperation. Moreover, the challenge we now face consists in trying to overcome the clear-cut alternative between on the one hand conceiving a series of exchanges without tangible plans or proposals, or on the other hand a package of perfectly structured and concrete proposals. The pathway that Infocivica proposes is a kind of Third Way. As such it is certainly more complex and it comprises an effort to describe the whole situation of all the media systems in our countries, in addition to the elaboration of general political considerations concerning the role of the public service, with the indication of possible guidelines at a European level.
Continuation of the real-time summary 
----------------------------
Preliminary summary of Gerardo Mombelli's intervention.
European community integration and the prospects for the cross-media public service
While starting a journey of research and discussion, which should lead us to the presentation of a Green Paper on public service media in 2012, we must bear in mind the simple fact that the European political-institutional context and the economic-technological environment or panorama we are referring to are both displaying clear signs of movement and evolution. We certainly do not intend to predict or encourage expectations of radical changes in the future, but we do think that our perception and assessment of the current trends, which have various effects upon the European Union and the competition-convergence between media, could either be confirmed or require corrections or adjustments during the period in which our initiative will take place. This calls for a twofold effort of paying great attention to the real processes underway and of firmly maintaining an attitude of openness and flexibility towards the suggestions and solutions proposed.
Do we therefore lack any precisely identified targets and objectives, so that the adventure that we wish to embark on is without a well defined agenda to need and the initial sharing of a programme?
We are certainly not aiming to impose uniformity upon structures and institutions or to confer new centralized powers to Brussels. On the other hand we are aware that EU integration has already required regulatory interventions in many sectors, also in that which most directly concerns us here. Our intention is thus necessarily aimed at measuring the extent, the consequences and the coherency of the measures already in place and of those that are yet to come, so that we can try to grasp and develop their logic and their destiny.
If we should ever point towards less traditional - or more controversial - ideas and directions of research we would say that we are also interested and concerned about the friction between the economic and market relevance of appropriate legislation and the contribution towards institutional and operative strengthening of the European Union. To put it simply the future of the construction of Europe and the role of the information conveyed by public service media is by no means secondary to the collective reflection that we intend to engage in and then to subject to political and institutional policy makers.
In essence, and to simplify, the main purpose of our endeavour is to provide a rational list of the desirable and possible problems and their solutions. These will constitute the materials and opinions that can bring order, establish priorities and hierarchies, and ultimately to establish the suitable and necessary choices at the European, national and local levels.
----------
Vedi anche:
CONFERENZA INFOCIVICA 2009
E' POSSIBILE COSTRUIRE UNA TELEVISIONE PUBBLICA EUROPEA?
Problemi e prospettive aperte dal Trattato di Lisbona
Video CONFERENZA INFOCIVICA 2009
|
