Brussels, 08/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - As the European Parliament (EP) prepares to vote in Strasbourg on Thursday 10 March on a resolution on the Hungarian media law, the Hungarian parliament, on Monday 7 March, adopted the amendments to the law called for by the European Commission. The day was carried by the 258 votes of MPs belonging to the Fidesz party to 65, with 38 abstentions. Media Commissioner Neelie Kroes welcomed the result and promised to keep a very close eye on the law.
The changes called for by Kroes relate to a number of points whose consistency with Community law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights was not certain, such as the compulsory registration of all audiovisual media, the requirement on all audiovisual media to provide balanced coverage of events and sanctions for offence caused. This episode cast a shadow over the start of the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, before Budapest agreed, on 16 February, to amend the law. The action taken by the Commission and the Hungarian authorities, however, has not convinced the Greens/EFA, ALDE, S&D and GUE/NGL groups in the EP, which still intend to have a draft resolution on the Hungarian law adopted.
The draft to be put to the vote, which has already been postponed following Budapest's amendment announcement, will raise wider concerns over the Hungarian law which have yet to be resolved, such as the independence and make-up of the Hungarian Media Council and the issue of the protection of journalists' sources. On Tuesday 8 March, the groups were due to work in the hope of producing a joint draft resolution, something they did manage to do in February.
Within the EP, the civil liberties committee is also moving forward on the issue of the Hungarian law and, more generally, on the freedom and pluralism of the media in the EU. Hitherto, the EP has never had an official position on this, and the European Commission has always been reluctant to propose legislation. On Monday evening, MEPs on the civil liberties committee had planned a meeting with Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg to discuss the situation with regard to the media in the EU. Unfortunately, the meeting had to be cancelled at the last moment, as Hammarberg was unable to attend, a source said. The committee also wants to ask the European Fundamental Agency for a report on the state of the media in the EU. Committee chairman Juan Fernando Lopez-Aguilar has written to EP President Jerzy Buzek. (S.P./transl.rt)