Answer given by Ms Kroes on behalf of the Commission

The Commission seeks to ensure the respect of media freedom and pluralism enshrined in Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union within its competences and follows related developments in Member States. The Commission supports the role of public broadcasting as an integral part of European democracy. The Treaty makes it clear that the governance and strategic choices on public service broadcasting lie with Member States. So while the Commission cannot prescribe Member States how to organise their public service broadcaster, we attach special importance to the role of the dual system of public and commercial service broadcasters in preserving media pluralism and promoting European values. The case described by the Honourable Member falls outside the scope of European Union law. According to its Article 51(1), the Charter applies to Member States only when they are implementing European Union law. Moreover, Article 6(1) of the Treaty of the European Union states that, “the provisions of the Charter shall not extend in any way the competences of the Union as defined in the Treaties.” The public consultation on the independence of audiovisual regulatory bodies showed that there is a need for stronger, more regular and at higher level cooperation between the regulatory bodies in the field of audiovisual media services. The Commission will reflect on possible follow up steps also in the context of deliberations about the future of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive which has been included in the scheduling of the REFIT exercise. The decision on any possible follow-up actions within the limits of the competences of the European Union will take account of the responses to those consultations.