Brussels, 18/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - Current legislation governing public broadcasters should be strengthened, Neelie Kroes says, in order to prevent the distortion of competition on the online market. “We should modernise the Broadcasting Communication” the Competition Commissioner said at a conference on public broadcasting on 17 July in Strasbourg. She added that “I do not mean a revolution”, but rather she would like to see the existing rule applied more rigorously. The aim is to prevent funds granted to public broadcasters being used to subsidise activities of limited cultural value, such as discussion forums or online meeting points. The Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT) declared that the new media necessitate a new definition of the “public service” mandate, without which the market could be distorted without any added cultural value for consumers. The Commissioner said that the Amsterdam Protocol would remain the basis of the Broadcasting Communication, which governs the state funding of broadcasters. However, she appealed to the Member States to assess more carefully the public value of the projects financed and to monitor broadcasters' compliance with the rules diligently. This dossier will be on the agenda of the informal meeting of the culture ministers in Versailles on 21 and 22 July. The Commissioner also hopes to be able to present an outline of a new Broadcasting Communication in the first half of 2009. (C.D.)