Media Study - Medija centar Beograd

2.7.1 COE STANDARDS
There is a set of relevant Committee of Ministers Recommendations, Resolutions and Declarations adopted in the
media field regarding public media support most of them focusing on funding for public service media:
Recommendation Rec(2007)3 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on the remit of public service media
in the information society, adopted on 31 January 2007,
Recommendation CM/Rec(2007)16 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on measures to promote the
public service value of the Internet, adopted on 7 November 2007,
Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on the guarantee of the independence of public service broadcasting in
the Member States, adopted on 27 September 2006,
Recommendation No. R (96) 10 on the guarantee of the independence of public service broadcasting and its
Explanatory Memorandum.
List of Recommendations and Resolutions adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in the
media field:
Recommendation 1878 (2009). The funding of public service broadcasting,
Recommendation 1773 (2006). The 2003 guidelines on the use of minority languages in the broadcast media and
the Council of Europe standards: the need to enhance co-operation and synergy with the OSCE,
Recommendation 1641 (2004) on public service broadcasting.
2.7.2 EU ACQUIS
To the extent that public broadcasters benefit from fees or from direct state funding, the Protocol on the System of
Public Broadcasting in the Member States addresses the EU Commission's task is to verify whether or not Member
States respect the Treaty provisions, especially the State Aid rules in this area. In its Communication Commission on
the Application of State Aid Rules to Public Service Broadcasting from 2001, the EU Commission outlines its policy in
this area. It adopted a revised Communication on 2 July 2009. The new Communication has sharpened the focus on
accountability and effective control at national level by including a transparent evaluation of the overall impact of
publicly-funded new media services. The main changes include: ex ante review of significant new services launched
by public service broadcasters, balancing the market impact of such new services with their public value being a key
feature; clarifications concerning the inclusion of pay services within the public service remit; more effective
control of overcompensation and enhanced supervision of the public service mission at the national level.
While in the EU Commission takes the firm view that the financing of public broadcasters through license fees
constitutes a form of state aid, the jurisprudence of the European Courts is less clear on this matter; this question
has not yet finally been resolved, as the jurisprudence of the European Courts point into different directions
without explicitly addressing the question.
2.7.3 ECONOMIC BACKGROUND
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