Brussels, 18/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Culture Commissioner, Viviane Reding, has announced that she will be unveiling the first draft of the new broadcasting directive ("Television without Frontiers" directive) at the Culture Council on 23 May. She explained that she had launched a widescale consultation process and had consulted more than 1,500 people from all political walks of life and the EU had a huge technical baggage to pay with. She said they would now be listening to professional stakeholders, public and private broadcasting bosses and film-makers. After going through the results of the consultation process, they would see whether it would be necessary to negotiate a new directive or keep the current one Either way, she explained, the legislative process had to begin at the end of 2002 but everyone would be given the chance to express their views.
After commenting on the importance and the basic fundamentals of the directive, Ms Reding added that Member States had to say whether they wanted regulations to be strengthened or relaxed. She explained that she wanted clear answers in order for the Commission to be able to strike a rapid balance. She said she had always defended cultural diversity that strengthens creativity and leaves a space for it and therefore did not like descriptions like "cultural exceptionism" for the EU's culture policies since such a term is legally false (cultural services are covered by WTO regulations) and it suggests a turning inward. She prefers the description "cultural diversity" since it symbolises the defence of creation which she feels she is personally fully responsible for. That does not mean, however, that the Commission is considering a European cultural policy since culture policy is and will remain defined at the regional and national level.