19/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Union notes with concern the latest developments regarding the television station TV 6, in particular the confirmation by the Moscow Arbitration Court on 26 November 2001 of the liquidation of MNVK, its parent broadcasting company. The European Union considers that the Russian audio-visual landscape would be seriously impoverished if this important independent television station were to disappear. The European Union considers that the independence and pluralism of the media, if needs be guaranteed through intervention by the authorities, are one of the democratic values upon which the EU-Russia partnership is founded. The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union, the associated countries Malta and Turkey, and the EFTA countries, members of the European Economic Area align themselves with this declaration.