The European Commission, through its spokesperson for matters relating to the Rule of law, Christian Wigand, said on Wednesday 10 February that it is in contact with the Hungarian authorities “to ensure that Klubrádió can continue to operate legally”.
The broadcasting licence of this independent Hungarian radio station is due to expire on the evening of Sunday 14 February (see EUROPE 12654/24), according to a decision of the Hungarian Media Council, which has criticised the broadcaster for not providing the required monthly data on programming quotas.
“This is yet another manoeuvre by Orbán to silence dissident voices and further reduce public debate” commented Hungarian MEP Anna Júlia Donáth (Renew Europe).
Reporters Without Borders condemned a “disproportionate sanction” handed down by an authority “under the strong influence of Viktor Orbán’s government” and called on the Commission to “examine the independence of this body under the revised European directive on audiovisual media services”.
The Commission will examine the conformity of this decision with Community law, Christian Wigand assured the press. “We will not hesitate to take action if necessary”, he added, stressing that the Klubrádió case only aggravated the Commission’s concerns about media freedom and pluralism in Hungary (see EUROPE 12571/5).
Poland. The spokesman was also questioned about the suspension by the Polish media of their activity on Wednesday in protest against a proposed tax on advertising that could undermine press freedom.
Some MEPs also protested against the project on Twitter, posting the hashtag “#mediawithoutchoice”.
On this point, Mr Wigand noted that the Commission expected States “ensure that their fiscal or other policies do not undermine their duty to guarantee a free, independent and diverse media ecosystem”. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)