Communications Regulatory Authority

audiovisual and telecommunications is becoming more and more a market phenomenon
rather than a mere technological potential.
In particular, during the meeting in Budapest, during the discussion of the
subject of public service reform, AGCOM described the provisions of Law no. 112/04
concerning the accounting separation between public service activities and commercial
activities, and illustrated its own regulation concerning the separate accounting scheme
that RAI will have to implement (cf. paragraph no. 2.6).
As regards AGCOM’s participation in the activities of the Standing Committee
on Transfrontier Television, worthy of note is, in the first place, the favourable
orientation of the Committee towards the extension of the Convention’s sphere of
territorial application to countries that are not members of the Council of Europe. An
eloquent sign of this trend is the signing of the Convention by Bosnia Herzegovina and
Albania. In fact, the Committee feels that allowing non-members of the Council of
Europe to join the Convention constitutes an opportunity both for the countries
themselves and for the expansion of the geographic area of application of the
Convention, to which, as a result, shared minimum rules are applicable in the
audiovisual sector.
At the request of Bosnia Herzegovina, the Committee’s opinion on the freedom
of reception and retransmission of programmes by cable and on copyright protection
was also approved.
With regard to the re-examination of the Convention, on which, during the
period of reference, the discussion was mainly centred, the Committee intends to
proceed in line with the future directive, while leaving open the possibility that the
Convention may govern several aspects having to do with the subject of human rights,
and express an added value with respect to the “TV Without Frontiers” directive. This
added value could consist of the different sphere of territorial application of the two
regulatory instruments.
The discussion on the re-examination of the Convention specifically concerned
the questions regarding the right to information and cultural objectives (access to the
events of greatest importance, right to brief abstracts, media pluralism, right to
correction); the themes of advertising, sponsorships, and telesales; the questions
concerning the sphere of application of the Convention, jurisdiction, the freedom of
reception and retransmission, the commitments of the parties, single-target advertising,
and abuses violating the rights recognized by the Convention, as well as the protection
of minors and respect of human dignity.
Bilateral relations
The objective of ensuring for AGCOM a qualified international dimension is
also based on the strengthening and expansion of the network of relations with foreign
Authorities and institutions, through the formalization of bilateral agreements and
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