Representatives from 30 European audio-visual regulatory authorities (from EU, EFTA, Central and Eastern European countries as well as Turkey) met to exchange information and experiences on European and national regulatory issues in the field of radio and television. On this occasion, a special welcome was given to the three new EPRA members, the Italian Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni, the Cyprus Radio-Television Authority and the Broadcasting Council of the Republic of Macedonia. Also welcomed to the EPRA were representatives from Finland and Spain who attended the meeting for the first time as observers. The European Commission (DG X) and the Council of Europe have the status of standing observers.
Following the re-election of Greger Lindberg (Swedish Broadcasting Commission) as the EPRA Chairman and the election of Sebnem Bilget (Turkish Radio and TV Supreme Council) and José Garibaldi (Portuguese High Authority for Social Communication) respectively as Vice-Chairwoman and Vice-Chairman, the issue of the portrayal of sex on television was discussed on the basis of video examples. The topic of the award of digital terrestrial licences was also on the agenda. The British and Swedish licensing processes were presented to the participants. The second day was dedicated to the discussion of current European developments in the field of the media, such as the recent study on parental control of television broadcasting, sponsored by the European Commission.
The European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA) was set up in April 1995 in Malta with the aim of enabling representatives of regulatory authorities to meet regularly in an informal way to exchange information about common issues of national and European media regulation as well as their interpretation and application. To date, 27 regulatory authorities are members of the EPRA. The Secretariat of the Platform is provided by the European Institute for the Media (EIM). Further information is available from the Secretariat.