Brussels, 01/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - The end of the confrontation? On Tuesday 1 February, the European Commission welcomed the response from the Hungarian authorities to the second letter addressed to them on 21 January by Commissioner Neelie Kroes on the subject of the new Hungarian media law (EUROPE n°10301). Kroes' spokesperson referred to a possibly swift resolution of the conflict by way of dialogue between the Commission and the Hungarian government. Jonathan Todd, the commissioner's spokesman, explained that at this stage, an “infringement procedure” was not appropriate.
On Monday 31 January, the Commission received a letter from the Hungarian minister for justice, Tibor Navracsic, answering the three points raised in the letter sent by Kroes on 21 January. These points involve the question of the obligation of “balanced coverage” of events for all audiovisual media, the obligation of registering all media, and the obligation of applying these requirements to the media based in other EU countries, which thus contravenes the “country of origin” principle.
In his letter, the minister responds point-by-point to the questions raised by Kroes and particularly rejects criticism made about the obligation of providing balanced coverage. In her letter of 21 January, Kroes says that this demand possibly contravenes the Charter of Fundamental Freedoms and the principle of the freedom of expression. Navracsics rejects this hypothesis and explains that the notion of balanced coverage has always responded to the desire to provide the Hungarian public with “impartial and objective news” and that this obligation on television and radio broadcasters has been in place at a legal level in Hungary since 1996. In his letter, the minister also explains that the extension of this obligation to audiovisual services is also legitimate. He explains that the expected decline of television and the increased power of the web effectively justify this imperative for balanced coverage. This principle would subsequently allow for “political pluralism and news diversity” to be respected. The minister also affirms in his letter that audiovisual blogs, “not considered as an economic activity”, are not included in the scope of the media law. Furthermore he disputes the fact that financial sanctions can be decided in cases involving breaches of the principle of “balanced coverage”.
Despite these divergences of views, the Commission on Tuesday welcomed the “positive” approach adopted by the Hungarian authorities, which were prepared to amend any of the litigious aspects contained in the law. In his letter, Navracsics asserts that his government is quite prepared to begin the process of revising this controversial legislation if the Commission so requests, despite “all our arguments”. (S.P./transl.fl)