WRITTEN QUESTION E-0614/96 by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) to the Commission (13 March 1996)

Subject: Television without frontiers

The Commission's aim, in submitting the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive (COM(95)0086 ((OJ C 185, 19.7.1995, p. 4.))) amending Council Directive 89/552 ((OJ L 298, 17.10.1989, p. 23.))), was to amend the 1989 'Television without frontiers' Directive to take account of technological and market developments and remedy certain problems experienced in its implementation.

While appreciating the wish to draw up a proposal for a Directive aimed at harmonizing and coordinating certain laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the pursuit of television broadcasting activities, I would ask the Commission to state:

1. whether the new quota measures adopted are justifiable;

2. whether a more flexible system in stages would not be preferable with a view to monitoring the gradual effects of the MEDIA II programme;

3. whether it agrees that the Directive should leave the television companies to choose whether to meet the broadcasting or investment quotas, both in the case of thematic and multi-thematic channels;

4. whether it is not better to satisfy the quota arrangements (whatever they may be) gradually and to establish a system in stages in order to measure the effectiveness of the measures adopted step by step, before moving on to a new phase.

Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (14 May 1996)

1. Directive 89/552/EEC is based on Article 57(2) and Article 66 of the EC Treaty. Its main aim is to create the legal conditions necessary for the free movement of television programmes in the Community. For that purpose, it coordinates the provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in the Member States in a certain number of fields including applicable law, promotion of the distribution and production of television programmes, television advertising and sponsorship, the protection of minors and the right of reply. Article 2(2) provides that Member States should ensure freedom of reception and should not restrict retransmission of television broadcasts from other Member States for reasons which fall within the fields coordinated by the Directive. The measures to which the Honourable Member refers concern the promotion of distribution and production of television programmes. With its proposal for amending Directive 89/552/EEC, the Commission's intention is to improve the level of legal certainty in the light of experience gained from the implementation of the Directive since 1989 and to modernize some of its provisions in line with the changes in television broadcasting since that date. Its proposals relating to the promotion of European works fit in with this overall approach. Moreover, the Commission wished to take into account the inclusion in the EC Treaty of Article 128(4) (see 14th recital of its proposal) which provides that the Community should take cultural aspects into consideration in the instruments adopted under other provisions of the EC Treaty.

2. Directive 89/552/EEC provides the common legal framework for the free movement of television services in the Community (see 1). This directive has no link with the Media II programme except that the objectives of that programme are to provide financial aid for audiovisual professionals in order to enable them to derive maximum benefit from the European audiovisual area.

3. The Directive is addressed directly to the Member States. Under Community law it is for them to establish the form and methods whereby television broadcasting bodies within their jurisdiction should attain the proportions set by Article 4 and Article 5, in accordance with their wording (Article 189 of the EC Treaty).

4. The Commission would remind the Honourable Member that the word 'progressively' appears in Article 4 and Article 5 of Directive 89/552/EEC and that the maintenance of a system applied progressively was the intention of the proposal for amending the Directive and was confirmed in the legislative resolution containing Parliament's opinion on that text adopted by Parliament on 14 February 1996 ((OJ C 65, 4.3.1996. )).