91997E3449

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3449/97 by Gijs de Vries (ELDR) to the Commission (31 October 1997)

Subject: Television without frontiers

From 1-23 July 1997, the transmissions of the satellite channel MED TV were jammed. MED TV, which broadcasts in Kurdish, operates from London under licence from the United Kingdom's Independent Television Commission. The jamming also affected another EUTELSAT-based company, the Romanian channel Antena I.

This interference effectively deprived citizens of several EU Member States of their right - as set out in both the Television Without Frontiers Directive and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights - to receive broadcasts from another Member State.

What steps does the Commission intend to take to ensure that the right of EU citizens to receive information from EU-based television channels - in accordance with the relevant EU Directive - is not curtailed by the jamming of such channels, from either inside or outside the European Union?

Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission (27 November 1997)

The television without frontiers Directive (Council Directive 89/552/EEC as amended by Directive 97/36/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 1997 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities ((OJ L 202, 30.7.1997. ))) provides that Member States shall ensure freedom of reception on their territory of television broadcasts from other Member States (Article 2a (1)).

This obligation is based on one of the four fundamental freedoms laid down in the EC Treaty (the freedom to provide services - Article 59).

The implementation and application of Community law is of great importance to the Commission. The Commission has opened a number of infringement proceedings in this area to ensure the correct and complete implementation of the Directive, as well as to ensure its application in practice.

In respect of the issue raised, the Commission is not aware of the events referred to by the Honourable Member. Further information would be required to enable the Commission to carry out the necessary evaluation, and to decide whether such actions are an infringement of the television without frontiers Directive.