WRITTEN QUESTION E-1906/03 by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Credibility of televoting and its cost to the European public.
Date: 2003-06-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: broadcasting, consumer, gaming, price list, telephone, television

C 78 E/54

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

The Honourable Member might wish to note that the Commission has already started infringement
proceedings against Spain for the failure to designate a sufficient number of vulnerable zones in various
Autonomous Communities, among them the Valencian Community. Within the framework of these
infringement proceedings, the Commission has sent a letter of formal notice to the Spanish authorities.
Their reply is currently under assessment.

the Commission is investigating the application of

In the same way,
the relevant dispositions of
Community Law in the field of water protection by the Spanish authorities, in particular Council Directive
91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991, concerning urban waste-water treatment (2). Consequently, the Commission
will adopt all measures necessary in order to ensure that these dispositions are properly observed.

(1) OJ L 375, 31.12.1991.
(2) OJ L 135, 30.5.1991.

(2004/C 78 E/0052)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1906/03

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(11 June 2003)

Subject: Credibility of televoting and its cost to the European public

In recent years, the use of ‘televoting’ has become widespread, giving viewers the impression that they are
directly taking part in events on the screen.

Recently (24 May 2003), something similar also occurred in the Eurovision Song Contest where (cid:1)
supposedly (cid:1) European viewers voted for the ‘best song’. ‘Voting’ took place using dedicated lines and text
messaging and lasted a total of only five minutes. The results (cid:1) supposedly again (cid:1) gave Turkey first
place, while the Greek and Cypriot press described as extremely strange the totally unexpected high
number of votes which Cyprus gave Turkey via (cid:1) again supposedly (cid:1) televoting. However, no details
were announced of how many had ‘voted’ in each country and what independent authority had verified
the reliability of the ‘voting’. Furthermore,
telephone ‘voting’ and text messaging are generally very
expensive services, costing in Greece on the evening of the contest up to almost EUR 0,50 (before VAT)
per call or message.

Is there any Community legislation covering televoting, the method of checking the reliability of the results
and the charge to each consumer using this service? Does the Commission consider,
in general, that
televoting is credible?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(4 August 2003)

There is no Community instrument regulating voting procedures used in connection with broadcast
programmes. The Commission has no information about the reliability of SMS services for the purpose of
televoting. It would be up to the organiser of the vote to ensure that the reliability of the method is
commensurate with the interests at stake. The price of SMS messages is determined by the market, subject
to any national obligations requiring service providers to give users prior information about the applicable
tariffs.