Brussels, 17/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - Broad consensus was reached on Monday within the Culture Council on the principles applicable to audiovisual policy with the development of digital technologies. "The Commission emphasised (in its communication of December 1999) some very important elements, namely that the infrastructures and content were two aspects that should be dealt with separately and that the regulation on content must be applied whatever the means of diffusion (principle of technological neutrality). The ministers agree with this", said European Culture Commissioner Viviane Reding after the session. "This means that we shall not deal with digital TV any differently than analogical television and that the rules will hold good".
"We have stressed the importance of transition from analogical to digital. Several delegations want joint reflection to coordinate this transition and to try to have a concordant timetable", said French Culture Minister Catherine Tasca. The Italian Culture Minister, Ms Melandri, mainly intervened along these lines "in order to guarantee everyone the same opportunities and to better programme the technical and economic investments required".
The Member States are now setting themselves deadlines for changeover from public to digital television. "The dates put forward are on the whole around 2004-2005", said Ms Reding's spokesperson. In this debate, France hopes to make keeping public television one of the strong points of the French Council Presidency, said Ms Tasca. A colloquy will be held on this subject, in Lille, on 19 July.
In the context of these discussions, Ms Reding called on Member States to correctly apply the Broadcasting Directive. The text should, with its Article 3 bis, allow each State to ensure that the radiobroadcasters under their competence do not deprive a large part of the viewing public of the possibility to clearly follow topical events, mainly in sport. "But we have recent examples of bad functioning of Article 3bis", commented the Commissioner's spokesperson. During the last Culture Council, the Danish Minister, for example, raised the case of a football match between Denmark and Israel, which could not be viewed in his country as the British television channel concerned did not wish to resell broadcasting rights.
There are several problems, including that of "affordable pricing" which should cover these rights and the establishment by the Member States of a list of major events. "When two States published such a list, they owe each other mutual assistance", explained the spokesperson. But this list is optional and, for now, only Denmark and Italy have drawn it up. There is a contact committee, composed of representatives of Member States and of the European Commission, which could allow such difficulties to be resolved.
The Commission will be publishing a report by the end of the year on application of the Broadcasting Directive. During the second half of 2001, a workshop will be organised to assess the impact of aid to the distribution and production of European works and the overall functioning of the directive. The Commission could then envisage certain amendments.
Ms Reding also announced on Monday that she would be presenting by the end of the year a report on the follow-up to the Council recommendation on the protection of minors and human dignity in audiovisual services and Internet services. Before finalising this report, she will forward a questionnaire to the Member States on such matters.
Report on "cultural diversity"
In addition to the results announced yesterday concerning the Media Plus programme (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.10), the Council heard the presentation by the Presidency of a report on cultural diversity. "This is an essential theme which must be at the origin of measures by the EU. We must see where the potential of this diversity lies. UNESCO and the Council of Europe are rekindling the debate on this theme in order to specify this notion and its political consequences", declared Portuguese Culture Minister Manuel Maria Carrilho, after the meeting. The Fifteen also noted the obvious interest shown by Italy in favour of a European policy on broadcasting services and congratulated the Commission for implementation of the Culture 2000 programme.