WRITTEN QUESTION E-2924/98

by Daniela Raschhofer (NI) to the Commission

(2 October 1998)

Subject: Support for the press

The Commission is known to attach great importance to the impact of its policies and it therefore puts a considerable effort into media work. A series of articles on the enlargement of the Community, ten pages in total, has appeared in the Austrian daily "Der Standard", with the Commission's financial support.

1. What are the general principles governing financial support for media reports concerning the European Union?

2. Is (and was) such financial support granted only in Austria and the new Member States or is it given in all 15 Member States?

3. Which newspapers throughout Europe have received financial support?

4. What are the principal topics on which European support for media reporting has been given?

5. In which Austrian newspapers have series of articles on the European Union received financial support since Austrian accession?

6. On what criteria were the newspapers selected?

7. Which subjects have been covered in the articles since Austrian accession?

8. Under which item in the budget does financial support for media reports appear?

9. What amounts of financial support were given in Europe as a whole and in Austria in 1997 and 1998?

Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission

(22 December 1998)

All the Commission's relations with the media are governed by the general principles of press freedom and independence. The Commission does not "order" articles. It encourages the press to take an interest in European affairs by providing detailed documentation, affording access to professional information and inviting direct contacts.

The main European dailies have taken various initiatives with regard to European current affairs, depending on the Member State in which they are published. Interest has focused on major European developments such as the euro, the Treaty of Amsterdam and Structural Fund policy.

Financial support, which is intended to ensure that the public is fully informed but without ever interfering with the full autonomy of judgement or the particular slant of the newspaper, falls into two categories: payment for commercial-type advertising space or production of a pull-out section of a magazine, or a financial contribution to a chronicle of European affairs without influencing editorial content. This type of financial support varies from one Member State to another depending on press practices and population. Examples of good cooperation are to be found with "The Irish Times" or "El Pais".

There is no repetitive or regular financial support. It is all a question of the quality of the initiative.

Where Austria is concerned, financial support has been granted to a number of dailies such as "Die Presse", "Der Standard" and "Kleine Zeitung", to the weeklies of "Oberösterreichische Rundschau" and "Niederösterreichische Nachrichten", and to the monthly "A3" and the fortnightly "IDK". The selection criteria are quality and type of readership, and distribution among Austrian opinion leaders or any other group particularly concerned with European issues. The topics in respect of which financial contributions were granted were the same as in the other Member States, i.e. the euro, enlargement, EP elections, the Structural Funds, citizens' rights and agriculture. The budget items involved are B3-3000 and B3-3060.

Financial support totalled ECU 98 000 in 1997 and ECU 24 000 in 1998.