mr president i thank you all for your very fruitful discussion which i will certainly convey to my colleague mrs kroes
let me comment on some of your remarks
the amsterdam protocol points to the need to balance financing with state aid and effects on competition
we want member states to take the lead on this because otherwise we will have to do it in brussels on the basis of complaints
our aim is to give member states more possibilities to develop public service broadcasting as long as the treaty provisions on competition are respected
public service broadcasting should continue to innovate educate and of course entertain
the commission agrees with these goals
it is up to member states to decide on how to finance public service broadcasting
this is clearly stated in the amsterdam protocol
public broadcasters will be able to experiment freely with new projects
the draft communication makes clear that pilot projects are exempt from the tests
we have always recognised the possibility of providing funding for a public service mission which includes a wide range of varied and balanced programming by public service broadcasters
this will also remain the case for the future
the commission also wants to guarantee a mixture of public and private
the commission aims at promoting public broadcasters to benefit from new technologies in order to serve the social democratic and cultural needs of society
the amsterdam test allows member states to provide funding for new media services by public broadcasters
it protects the ability to keep up with changes in our fast-moving media environment
at the same time it is also in the public interest to maintain the incentives for private operators
innovation by both public and private broadcasters is important for realising the lisbon objectives and it goes without saying that public broadcasters will also remain free to launch any kind of new service on a commercial basis in the future without prior assessment
i want to assure you that we take the consultation very seriously
we will review the text to take into account legitimate concerns
i will ask our services to take parliament's and member states proposals into account as we review the draft
