The transmission state principle: the end of the broadcasting sovereignty of the member states.

Observers of the media policies of the European Union contend that the transmission state principle of the Television Without Frontiers Directive, by ruling out the restriction of trans-frontier broadcasts, which are in compliance with the laws of the originating state, has signified the end of the broadcasting sovereignty of the Member States. The transmission state principle is central to the objective of the Television Without Frontiers Directive to create an internal market in broadcasting services. Laid down initially in Article 2(2) of Directive 89/552EEC, it has been transferred to Article 2a(1) following the adoption of the revised Directive 97/36EC. The meaning of the principle has remained the same: Member States are obliged to ensure the unhindered reception of broadcasts lawfully transmitted in their state of origin

‘Public service broadcasting in the Era of Austerity’, London, 11 July 2013

The Greek media landscape changed dramatically after the deregulation of broadcasting in the late 1980s. Despite a very significant rise in the number of media outlets the level of concentration is high in both the national newspapers and television markets and has increased during the last decade. Moreover, a major problem of cross-ownership has emerged. Strong anticoncentration rules were never enforced and legislation aiming to curb the economic power of media barons was blocked by the European Commission. The interdependence between political and media elites and the strong clientelistic relations which characterize the Greek political system are identified as the main factors behind the ineffective and contradictory nature of media regulatory policies

Search engines and press archives between memory and oblivion

Search engines’ comprehensive digital memory has led to a desire for greater informational self-determination. The seminal judgment in Google Spain gave impetus to the development of data protection law as the preferred legal remedy for claimants who seek to erase their digital past. This article argues that the ‘right to be forgotten’ is a contourless and illconceived right, which can apply to a variety of markedly dissimilar cases, while paying insufficient regard to the fundamental rights of search engine users, website publishers and of the search engines themselves. Even though the decoupling of names from search results does not interfere with the original expression, it is intended to suppress this expression by drastically reducing its findability and hence its significance in the digital age. Search engines, with their intransparent modus operandi, are entrusted to unravel the Gordian knot between data protection and freedom of expression. But as the ‘right to be forgotten’ begins to cast its overly broad net over press archives, the Gordian knot risks tightening further

Digital terrestrial television licensing in Greece: Curiouser and curiouser

Since their launching 25 years ago, private television stations in Greece operated under ‘temporary’ licences on the basis of legal provisions that had been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Administrative Court of Greece. A law, which was passed by the Greek Parliament on 24 October 2015, promised to put an end to this state of disorder by finally regulating the licencing of digital terrestrial television (DTT) providers. However, the new legislation proved extremely controversial, dividing government and opposition parties. The general outcry against the new licensing framework did not deter the government from granting only four ten-year licences through an auction procedure held by the Secretariat General of Information and Communication. The main criticisms voiced against this arrangement were the following: first, that it bypassed the independent regulatory authority Ethniko Symvoulio Radiotileorasis (ESR), and second, that the arbitrary limitation of the number of licenses placed commercial television under the tutelage of the state and reduced pluralism. The Greek government, on the other hand, contended that it was solely competent to regulate DTT licensing, that the Greek audio-visual market could not sustain more channels, and that the new regime would put an end to corruption in the sector. This article proposes to examine the validity of these arguments, and to discuss the impact of the new legislation on media freedom in Greece

Public broadcasting and European law: a comparative examination of public service obligations in six member states

Although EU Member States share a tradition of regulating public broadcasting for the public interest, such regulation has been in decline in recent years. It has been challenged by the emergence of commercial television sworn to the market logic, as well as by satellite services and the Internet. EU law and policy has, under pressure from powerful global forces, abetted that decline. The question thus arises: Do cultural values still matter in European national broadcasting? This important book examines the challenges posed to public service obligations by European Union media law and policy. An in-depth analysis of the extent to which six countries (France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) regulate broadcasting for the public interest reveals a range of vulnerability to national political pressures or, alternatively, to the ideology of market sovereignty. The author examines the country of origin principle and the European quota rule of the Television without Frontiers Directive, revealing the influence of European law on the definition and enforcement of programme requirements, and shows how the case law of the European Court of Justice encourages deregulation at the national level without offering adequate safeguards at the supranational level in exchange. She asks the question whether the alleged ‘European audiovisual model’ actually persists—that is, whether broadcasting is still committed to protecting such values as cultural diversity, the safety of minors, the susceptibility of consumers to advertising, media pluralism, and the fight against racial and religious hatred. The book concludes with an evaluation of the impact of the EU state aid regime on the licence fee based financing of public broadcasting. Despite the increasing importance of the subject, its study in a comparative context has been heretofore underdeveloped. This book fully provides that context and more, and will be of great value and interest to all parties concerned with the key role of communications in the development of European integration

Why the European broadcasting quota should be abolished?

This article examines the extent to which the European quota rule of the Television Without Frontiers Directive encroaches upon the sovereignty of the Member States in the area of broadcasting. It challenges the rationale of the European quota on three levels: its contribution to the creation of the internal nmrket, to the promotion of the Errropean audiovisual sector and to the fostering of Europe's cultural diversity/identity. It sets out the limits of the Community 's competence and shows that the legal basis of the Directive, Articles 47(2) and 55 EC, cannot justify the harmoisation of national programme restrictions creating obstacles to the free movement of television broadcasts in the Community. The industrial objectives of the European quota are outlined and its failure to give a fresh impetus to the European programme industry is analysed. Consideration is given to Article 151 EC as a potential legal basis for the European quota provision and the inconsistencies of the quota's cultural conception are highlighted

The circumvention principle: an effective defence of national broadcasting systems against abuse?

Assesses the extent to which existing EC laws provide a satisfactory solution to the problem of circumvention whereby broadcasters in one Member State transmit programmes to another Member State while avoiding the latter state's broadcasting legislation. Considers whether legislation should be adopted subjecting such broadcasts to the laws of the receiving Member State, including looking at the origins of the circumvention principle and its application in European Court of Justice broadcasting case law