madam president the commission welcomes the european parliament's report entitled public service broadcasting in the digital era the future of the dual system
the report is a well-balanced text as it supports the existing dual system based on coexistence between public service broadcasters and commercial broadcasters in europe
as the audiovisual media services directive recalls in one of its recitals this coexistence is a feature that distinguishes the european audiovisual media market from others and the report fully recognises this
the protocol on the system of public broadcasting in the member states annexed to the eu treaties recognises the member states freedom to define the public service remit to organise public service broadcasting and its funding as long as such funding does not affect trading conditions and competition in the community
therefore the member states determine the form and conditions of funding of their public service media so long as eu state aid rules are respected
we agree with the main thrust of the report i
e
that public broadcasters should be able to use the opportunities offered by digitisation and the diversification of distribution platforms in line with the principle of technological neutrality
this was acknowledged in the revised communication from the commission of two thousand and nine on the application of state aid rules to public service broadcasting
we have some comments on two elements of the report in particular
first regarding monitoring the council of europe standards there is no eu responsibility for the political independence of public service media
furthermore eu member states cannot give a mandate to the european audiovisual observatory without the agreement of the non-eu members
the commission could not do so either
second the report suggests that certain member states have failed to take any action in promoting european works in broadcasting
this is not supported by figures from the commission's recent report on the application of the directive's provisions
according to that report broadcasters across europe are doing well overall in terms of the promotion of european programmes
public service broadcasters should be at the forefront of innovation driving the development of new formats and quality as regards both the programme itself and technically if they are to keep up with trends and challenges from elsewhere
it seems that we fully agree on these points and i look forward to cooperating with parliament on these issues within the legal framework provided by the treaties
