APPENDIX 3: CALL FOR EVIDENCE
1. The Internal Market Sub-Committee (Sub-Committee
B) of the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Union
is undertaking an inquiry into issues raised by the European Commission's
Proposal (COM(2005) 646 final for a Directive amending Directive
89/552/EEC ('Television Without Frontiers').
2. When first adopted, the Television Without Frontiers
Directive was designed to harmonise Member State laws in respect
of the provision of television broadcasting services. The objectives
of harmonisation were to facilitate the free movement of such
services within the Single Market and ensure the protection of
certain public interest objectives. The proposed amending Directive
(the 'Proposal') is intended to advance the process of harmonisation
taking into account the huge changes that have taken place in
the broadcasting services market, brought out primarily through
technological innovations, such as the Internet and mobile communication
services. The Proposal would substantially amend the terminology
and terms of the existing measure.
3. Sub-Committee B's inquiry will focus on three
groups of questions. The first address the need for a regulatory
initiative in the area:
(a) In our current rapidly converging and evolving
technological and market environment, is it appropriate to try
to recast the regulatory framework?
(b) What are the advantages and disadvantages
of regulating this area? Are the regulatory costs proportionate
to the benefits?
4. The second group of questions address whether
the Proposal, in its current form, can meet its own broad objectives:
(a) Does the Proposal sufficiently liberalise
the provision of broadcasting services within the European Union?
(b) Does the Proposal contain measures that will
effectively protect public interest objectives?
(c) Does the Proposal achieve an appropriate
balance between the objective of harmonisation and right of Member
States to control audiovisual media services in a manner which
reflects national concerns and interests?
5. The third group of questions focus on specific
topics addressed in the Proposal. These are:
- Defining the nature of the regulated
services—Is there agreement on the Commission's proposal
to distinguish between linear and non-linear audiovisual media
services?
- Jurisdiction and country of origin—Does
the Proposal go far enough in facilitating the free movement of
broadcasting services?
- Regulatory approach—What role should industry
self-regulation play in the new regulatory framework?
- Advertising and commercial communications—Should
broadcasters be given greater flexibility in respect of the commercial
arrangements they enter into for the financing of programmes?
- Protection of minors and human dignity—What
controls should be imposed on non-linear services in respect of
illegal and harmful material, such as the granting of a 'right
to reply'?
- Media plurality and cultural diversity—Do
quotas continue to be an appropriate mechanism for promoting the
production of 'European works'?
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