[Documents/Docheader.htm]Public service broadcasting
Recommendation 1641 (2004)Doc. 10301
4 October 2004Reply from the Committee of Ministers
adopted at the 898th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (30 September 2004)
1. The Committee of Ministers welcomes Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1641 (2004) on public service broadcasting and the support it gives to the development of strong and independent public service broadcasting in all Council of Europe member states. The Recommendation has been brought to the attention of the governments of the member states. The Committee of Ministers has received an opinion on the Recommendation from the Steering Committee on Mass Media (CDMM).
2. The Committee of Ministers fully agrees with the Parliamentary Assembly that public service broadcasting must remain a strong and vibrant element of the broadcasting landscape, as it constitutes a vital element of democracy in Europe and fulfils a specific mission in the areas of information, culture, education and entertainment. It must at the same time be allowed to adapt to the requirements of the Information Society. From this perspective, the commitments undertaken by the governments of the member states in the Resolution on the future of public service broadcasting, adopted at the 4th European Ministerial Conference on Mass Media Policy (Prague, December 1994), and in Recommendation No. R (96) 10 of the Committee of Ministers on the guarantee of the independence of public service broadcasting, are more relevant than ever.
3. The Committee of Ministers considers that it is essential that public authorities in the member states take all necessary measures to implement these commitments in practice. Together with the Parliamentary Assembly, it will closely monitor the honouring of these commitments and take all appropriate political steps to ensure that they are respected. In response to the Assembly’s Recommendation (paragraph 17. vii.a.), it calls on the governments of the member states to "refrain from any interference with the editorial independence and institutional autonomy of public service broadcasters". At the same time, the Council of Europe shall continue to assist its new member states in order to transform state broadcasting institutions into genuine independent public service broadcasters.
4. The Committee of Ministers agrees with the Parliamentary Assembly that public service broadcasting currently faces a number of very serious challenges, which, if ignored, could in the long run threaten its future. The Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation very rightly mentions the challenges posed by globalisation and the development of new communication and information technologies, as well as the increasing competition from commercial media and competition policy issues raised by commercial media in this context. The Committee of Ministers believes that the principles laid down in the 1994 Resolution and Recommendation No. R (96) 10 should now be developed and adjusted so as to assist public service broadcasting organisations in facing new challenges described in the report of the Parliamentary Assembly. In view of these challenges, it is essential for the democratic future of European societies and their social cohesion, as well as for the preservation of international relations based on mutual understanding and tolerance, that public service broadcasting should continue to be a key element of the European media landscape.
5. As concerns the future remit of public service broadcasting and, in particular, whether the latter should be able to enter the sector of new communication services, the Committee of Ministers recalls its Recommendation Rec(2003)9 on measures to promote the democratic and social contribution of digital broadcasting, adopted on 28 May 2003. The latter indicates that "public service broadcasters should play a central role in the transition process to digital terrestrial broadcasting". It recommends that governments of the member states "guarantee that public service broadcasting … is maintained in the new digital environment" and "reaffirm the remit of public service broadcasting, adapting if necessary its means to the new digital environment".
6. The Committee of Ministers considers that the Parliamentary Assembly itself can play a valuable role in achieving these objectives by making the parliaments of the member states aware of the importance of maintaining public service broadcasting and adapting its aims and resources to meet the aforementioned challenges. The national parliaments could also play a vital role in encouraging the definition of an appropriate legal, institutional and financial framework for the functioning of public service broadcasting and its adaptation and modernisation to suit the needs of the audience and the requirements of the digital era.They could follow the policies adopted in their respective countries in order to assess the extent to which the principles set out in Recommendation Rec(2003)9 are actually implemented. In this connection, the Committee of Ministers has taken due note of the invitation addressed to it in paragraph 17. ii. of the Recommendation.
7. When preparing the Action Plan of the 7th Ministerial Conference on Mass Media Policy, which will take place in Kyiv in early 2005, and the other draft documents to be submitted to the Conference, the Committee of Ministers will instruct the CDMM to bear fully in mind the recommendation in paragraph 17. i. that a new major policy document on public service broadcasting should be adopted and included in the Action Plan. In this respect, it wishes to draw the Parliamentary Assembly’s attention to the fact that the issue of public service broadcasting will be addressed during the Ministerial Conference, in particular under sub-theme 2, devoted to cultural and media diversity in times of globalisation. Given that the Parliamentary Assembly will, as in the past, be invited to take part in the Ministerial Conference, it will have the opportunity to give its point of view on the issue of public service broadcasting in this context.
8. Finally, with regard to the Parliamentary Assembly’s invitation to the Committee of Ministers in paragraph 17. vi. of its Recommendation, it wishes to point out that in its political message to the World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva, 10-12 December 2003), adopted at the 844th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (19 June 2003), the Committee of Ministers drew attention to the fact that "independent public service broadcasting has a special mission to ensure access to information and culture for all citizens and drive the creation of domestic content". The Committee of Ministers also indicated that it believed "that the public service principle should be maintained and developed in the digital environment through a range of digitised public information services." In the light of the texts that will be adopted by the Ministers at the Ministerial Conference in Kyiv, the Committee of Ministers will consider what follow-up could be given to these statements and to the Declaration and Action Plan adopted at the Summit, in the perspective of the 2nd phase of this Summit, due to take place in Tunis in November 2005.