The Impact of Media Concentration on Professional ... - OSCE

would become illegal. Hence the growing pressure from Brusselsto agree upon a harmonized European media law. A revisedversion <strong>of</strong> the TWF directive is due to be introduced by the end<strong>of</strong> 2003.Still, the media law policy pursuit by Brussels is met withlittle enthusiasm from national European governments.National governments as well as regional and local authorities,even though committed in principle to at least limit theprocess <strong>of</strong> media concentration, follow different objectives thanthe EU. <strong>The</strong>ir need to strengthen existing publishing entities<strong>of</strong>ten stands in open contrast with European guidelines andprinciples.Permitting existing media concerns to add additional marketshares at the expense <strong>of</strong> smaller competitors, is a means tosecure local jobs and ensure fiscal revenues. Keeping cross-borderinvestors away and media firms in national hands is anadditional motive for governments to allow for a certain degree<strong>of</strong> concentration.<strong>The</strong> dilemma <strong>of</strong> EU Member States governments cantherefore be best described as a difficult balancing act betweenlocal allocation politics and social market politics: to find anequilibrium between an economically necessary level <strong>of</strong> concentration,in order to protect the national media marketagainst an increasingly globalized media environment and theneed to define and to adhere to an upper limit <strong>of</strong> tolerance <strong>of</strong>concentration in order to preserve media pluralism.Concerning the EU’s desire to harmonize European medialaw Member States have so far kept the upper hand. Thatwhich is not governed by the European Union’s competencein creating a single European market and safeguarding marketcompetition remains with the legislative authority <strong>of</strong> theMember States.38 THE IMPACT OF MEDIA CONCENTRATION ON PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM