Governing the European Audiovisual Space: What modes of governance can facilitate a European approach to media pluralism?

This paper explores the notion of media pluralism and its application mainly from the European Union (EU) substantive and institutional law point of view so as to speculate on the possibility for a European approach to media pluralism and on the forms and routes it might take; especially once appreciated the limits and shortcomings of traditional approaches, against the background of the competence debate in respect of media pluralism and media freedom. Thus, the first section offers a theoretical (and slightly historical) background of the notion of media pluralism, in its various dimensions, at EU level. The second section, then, sketches an analysis of the notion of media pluralism, having regard to legal sources of primary and secondary EU law, as well as to the relevant European Court of Justice (ECJ) case law. Finally, a third (and open) section builds on the difficulties in traditional hard-law approaches to tackle media pluralism at EU level, and proposes some speculation on alternative modes of governance for the media at European stage: namely, the cooperation/coordination of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) at supranational level. This is reflected in the proposed case-study on the drafting of Article 30 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD).The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is co-financed by the European University Institute and the European Union

Media pluralism and the European audiovisual space : the role and cooperation of independent regulatory authorities

Defence date: 27 May 2015Examining Board: Professor Bruno de Witte (European University Institute, Supervisor); Professor Loïc Azoulai (European University Institute); Doctor Rachael Craufurd Smith (University of Edinburgh); Professor Roberto Mastroianni (Università di Napoli).This thesis explores the legal and institutional settings that contribute to the creation of general preconditions for the freedom of expression and, primarily, genuine pluralism to prosper throughout the European audiovisual media space. Taking into account the intense legislative and judicial activity on audiovisual media matters in the European Union (EU) and bearing in mind the developments brought about by new digital communications and technological convergence, the analysis focuses on the institutional forms and modes of governance for the media that are apt to foster an effective and consistent supranational approach to the fundamental objective of media pluralism and the values it involves, considering notably the role and functioning of Independent Administrative Authorities (IAAs) for the media. To this end, the three Parts into which the Thesis is divided deal with, respectively: the notion of media pluralism and its employment in EU law, highlighting the limits of classical hard-law based approaches (Part I); an examination of the institutional features as well as the operation of three national IAAs for the media – namely, the French Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel (CSA), the UK Office of Communications (Ofcom) and the Italian Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (AGCom) – selected as case studies to illustrate the role of these bodies in securing media pluralism (Part II); the investigation of EU action in setting the necessary institutional preconditions and some specific related requirements to guarantee attainment of this objective, also looking in some detail at the legislative developments that have occurred in comparable sectors, such as data protection legislation, equality law and electronic communication regulation, before considering the arrangements in place at the supranational level, as well as the incipient ones in the governance of audiovisual media (Part III)

FIRST REPORT OF GEOSMITHIA PALLIDA AND G. LANGDONII ASSOCIATED WITH LIPARTHRUM COLCHICUM IN CENTRAL ITALY

Bark and wood-boring beetles feeding on coniferous and deciduous trees in different forest ecosystems are often associated with various species of fungi. In 2019, widespread attacks of Liparthrum colchicum Semenov (Coleoptera Curculionidae Scolytinae) were observed on Laurus nobilis L. in Tuscany (Italy). Samples of colonized terminal twigs were collected to investigate the presence of phytopathogenic fungi associated with the scolytid. Two different colonies of the Geosmithia genus were identified as Geosmithia pallida and Geosmithia langdonii. To our knowledge this is the first report of G.pallida and G. langdonii associated with L. colchicum on Bay tree, in Italy