11 Media pluralism
| (28320)
5647/07
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| Commission staff working paper on media pluralism in the Member States of the European Union
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| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 16 January 2007
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| Deposited in Parliament | 30 January 2007
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| Department | Culture, Media and Sport
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 12 February 2007
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | No date set
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared but further information requested
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Background
11.1 The Commission regards "media pluralism" as desirable
in the interests of freedom of speech and information and fair
competition inside the EU and with global competitors. The Commission
uses "media pluralism" to mean sufficient diversity
of ownership of newspapers, broadcasting and other communications
media, together with sufficient diversity of contents and sources
of information (so that, for example, not all newspapers in an
area carry an identical news stories emanating from a single source).
11.2 In 1993 the Commission issued a Green Paper
on media pluralism.[48]
It subsequently published a Communication which concluded that,
in the light of the responses to the Green Paper, it was not appropriate,
at that time, to propose a Community initiative on media pluralism
but that the Commission should continue to monitor the situation.[49]
11.3 Neither the EC Treaty nor the EU Treaty contains
a specific legal base for legislation on media pluralism. But
they contain relevant provisions, such as those on competition
in Title VI of the EC Treaty and the references in Article 6 of
the EU Treaty to human rights and fundamental freedoms. Some EC
legislation, such as the Mergers Directive, applies to media companies
as well as well as other businesses.[50]
11.4 The Council of Europe has issued a series of
recommendations, guidance notes and codes of conduct on media
pluralism. And in 2005 UNESCO adopted as Convention on cultural
diversity which refers to the development of public policies to
ensure media pluralism.[51]
11.5 In 2004, the European Parliament passed a Resolution
calling on the Commission to conduct an examination of action
which might be taken by Member States and the EC to encourage
media pluralism and to propose a Directive to protect such pluralism.
The document
11.6 The Commission staff working document reviews
the current extent of media pluralism in the EU under the following
headings:
- Freedom of expression and
freedom of information;
- Inter-relation between politics/economic interests
and media;
- Media concentration;
- Cross-border concentration — global competitiveness;
- Media content;
- Internal and external pluralism;
- Pluralism in the broadcasting sector; and
- Technological developments.
The Annex to the document gives summaries for each
Member States of the relevant legislation, regulatory requirements
and market share by product and owner.
11.7 The document makes no proposals for legislation.
It does, however, announce the Commission's decision to set up
an independent study to define indicators which could be used
to assess the extent of media pluralism. The indicators will cover
Member States':
- policies and legislation on
media pluralism;
- the range of media available to the public and
its constituent social groups; and
- economic factors, such as the number and type
of newspapers per head of population and the extent of vertical
and horizontal integration of media providers.
In 2008, the Commission will issue a Communication
on the results of the study. The Communication will not only present
the indicators for Member States to use to assess the state of
media pluralism within their areas but also provide the basis
for discussions between Member , the EU's institutions and NGOs.
The Government's views
11.8 The Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism
at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (Mr Shaun Woodward)
tells us that, in the Government's view, the document does not
demonstrate cause for concern about media pluralism in the UK
or other Member States. He adds that, while the document recognises
that policy on media pluralism is a matter for Member States and
the proposed study is of limited scope, the Government has reservations
about the Commission getting involved in the subject. He says
that:
"efforts by the European Union to determine
'how far media pluralism has been achieved' may lead at some stage
to pressure upon the Commission and other institutions to take
an active role in the issue, possibly to set standards of some
kind based upon the 'indicators' which the Commission is developing.
"There is however no specific Treaty base for
the EU to take such a role. Without pre-empting any debate on
the issue which may eventually take place, the Government is sceptical
about whether this would be proper for the EU to have."
Conclusion
11.9 As the Commission's working document acknowledges,
the Council of Europe has done a lot of work on media pluralism.
It seems to us that the document does not provide sufficient grounds
for action by the EU as well. The study of indicators which the
Commission has in mind could be commissioned by the Council of
Europe if, indeed, such a study is needed. That might help avoid
duplication of effort and confusion.
11.10 We share the Government's reservations about
the EU seeking a role for itself in medial pluralism as a discrete
subject. We should be grateful if the Minister would keep us informed
of any discussions about the document between Member States or
with the Commission. Meanwhile, we are content to clear the document
from scrutiny.
48 (14322) 4213/93: see HC 79-xxi (1993-94), para 5
(3 March 1993). Back
49
(15683) 10585/04: see HC 70-xxv (1994-95), para 26 (18 October
1995). Back
50
Directive 2005/19/EC: OJ No. L 58, 4.3.05, p.19. Back
51
UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity
of Cultural Expressions, 20 October 2005. Back
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