Belgium: two communities with diverging views on how to manage media diversity

Item does not contain fulltextAlthough Belgium's broadcasting history can be considered a perfect example of the overall situation in Western Europe, the country's specific cultural makeup and political shifts are also reflected in its media environment. The media system is characterized by a fairly high degree of cross-ownership, while major differences can be found in the degree of cultural protection. This article examines the stances being taken in the French- and Flemish-Speaking Communities: contextually, in terms of cross-ownership regulation; institutionally, as to the mission of the public broadcaster (pur sang or broader); and content-wise, with respect to home-grown, high identity value productions, as opposed to transnational productions from foreign players

Managing the Dilemma of Discretion: The European Commission and the Development of EU State Aid Policy

This article examines the role played by the European Commission in the development of the European Union\u27s (EU) state aid policy. It does so through the prism of a \u27dilemma\u27 that exists at the nexus of the Commission\u27s delegated authority to administer EU treaty state aid provisions, the discretion conferred on Commission authorities by the imprecise language in which those provisions are written, and the political and institutional control mechanisms EU member governments use to influence the exercise of that discretion. Examining Commission efforts to manage this dilemma over the history of the EU, we provide evidence to illustrate how the Commission\u27s approach adapted to shifting economic and political conditions