Updated on:28.09.05

Controversy over draft Latvian laws. See news item 28.09.05

Current Latvian Broadcasting Law. The Draft Law on Public Service Organisations. The Draft Law on Radio and Television.

The Radio and Television Board of Denmark has published a report on Public Service Governance specifically concerning 'how politicians best ensure the demanded public service programming without compromising editorial independence'. Data was provided through a questionnaire sent to the EPRA members on this issue. It consists of a comparative study between the systems in the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden and Finland, the Netherlands, Austria and Germany.

The report concerns the appointment of the Board of the public service-broadcaster; the powers of the Board; and the experiences with different governance models; and also independence and the role in management of PSB Boards of Governors.

EPRA members have been considering for some time the idea of producing a publication about the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (e.g. EPRA Yearbook or a description of the functions, powers and activities of the different regulatory authorities).

This project has not materialised until now. However, we will keep you informed about any further development in this matter.

Beside this idea of a regularly issued EPRA publication, we have started to produce and publish rather extensive documents that deal with specific issues playing an important role in the field of media regulation:

The EPRA Digital Terrestrial Television Working Group, a pilot group composed of EPRA members under the direction of the Italian AGCOM, has produced an extensive and highly-praised report whose aim is to assess the state of DTT development across Europe and to attempt an evaluation of the factors that can determine its success or accelerate the transition within a specific broadcasting environment. The report was presented at the 19th EPRA meeting which took place in Stockholm on 3-4 June 2004.
Report by Paola Manacorda, Lisa Di Feliciantonio and Paolo Alagia, AGCOM, Italy Attention: Large document (115 p.)
Executive Summary (6 p.)

In co-operation with the European Audiovisual Observatory and the Institute of Information Law (IviR, Amsterdam) the EPRA organised a round-table conference on the issue of jurisdiction over broadcasters in Europe. The conference, which was held in Amsterdam on 24 November 2001, brought together a small group of selected legal experts (lawyers, academics and a few EPRA members). The results of the discussion are published as an IRIS Special entitled "Jurisdiction over broadcasters in Europe". The report can be ordered from the European Audiovisual Observatory. It is available in English, French and German. In the appendix to the report you'll find a selection of background material in order to facilitate further study and further discussion of the subject.