Activities of Renate WEBER related to 2011/2246(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
EU Charter: standard settings for media freedom across the EU (A7-0117/2013 - Renate Weber) (vote)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the EU Charter: standard settings for media freedom across the EU PDF (238 KB) DOC (149 KB)
Amendments (20)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
– having regard to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, the declarations, recommendations and resolutions of the Councilmmittee of Ministers and Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the documents of the Venice Commission and Commissioner for Human Rights on freedom of expression, of information and of the media,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4
Citation 4
– having regard to Directive 2010/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive)1 ,and to the First report from the Commission on the application of the directive1a, __________________ 1a COM (2012) 203 final, 4.5.2012
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
– having regard to the European Charter on Freedom of the Press1a __________________ 1a http://www.pressfreedom.eu/en/index.ph p
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7
Citation 7
– having regard to its resolutions of 20 November 2002 on media concentration2 , of 4 September 2003 on the situation as regards fundamental rights in the European Union (2002)3 , of 4 September 2003 on Television without Frontiers4 , of 6 September 2005 on the application of Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 89/552/EEC (‘Television without Frontiers’), as amended by Directive 97/36/EC, for the period 2001-20025 , of 22 April 2004 on the risks of violation, in the EU and especially in Italy, of freedom of expression and information (Article 11(2) of the Charter of Fundamental6 , of 25 September 2008 on concentration and pluralism in the media in the European Union7 , and of 10 March 2011 on media law in Hungary8 ,of 25 November 2010 on public service broadcasting in the digital era: the future of the dual system7a and of 10 March 2011 on media law in Hungary8, __________________ 7a Texts adopted P7_TA(2010)0438.
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
– having regard to the Protocol on the system of public broadcasting in the Member States annexed to the TEU8a, __________________ 8a Protocol on the system of public broadcasting in the Member States (OJ C 83, 30.3.2010, p. 312) known as the Protocol of Amsterdam.
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas media freedom is a qualifying criteria for accession of candidate countries to the EU on the basis of the Copenhagen criteria and one of the principles the EU promotes in its foreign policy and whereas the EU and its Member States should consequently lead by example internally, hereby ensuring credibility and coherence;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the EU has competences in media-related fields such as the internal market, audiovisual policy, competition, telecommunications, State subsidies, public service obligincluding State subsidies, telecommunications and fundamental rights; whereas Parliament has stated that, on this basis, minimum essential standards should be defined in order to ensure, guarantee and promote freedom of information and an adequate level of media pluralism and independent media governance13 ; whereas the Commission has entrusted the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom of the European University Institute to conduct an analysis on the scope of EU competences in the field of media freedom;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas concerns arise in relation to the challenges facing the media, notably public service broadcasters in terms of editorial independence, staff recruitment, pluralism, neutrality and quality of information, access and funding, caused by undue political and financial interference, as well as the economic crisis;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Recalls that Protocol 29 to the Treaties recognises that the system of public broadcasting in the Member States is directly related to the democratic, social and cultural needs of each society and to the need to preserve media pluralism and consequently foresees that Member States can fund public service broadcasting only insoar as this is provided for the fulfilment of the public service remit and without affecting trading conditions and competition in the Union to an extent which would be contrary to the common interest;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Believes that media ownership and management should be transparent and not concentrated; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure competition so as to address and prevent dominant positions and guarantee the access of new entrants on the market; calls for rules to ensure that conflicts of interest are properly addressed and resolved; highlightscalls for the effective implementation of rules to ensure transparent and fair procedures for State advertising allocation so to guarantee that advertising and sponsoring maydo not cause interference with the editorial line of media;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the importance of ensuring the independence of journalists, both from internal pressures from editors or owners and externally from political or economic lobbies or other interest groups; highlights the fact that the right of access to documents and information is fundamental andfor journalists and citizens; calls for the full protection of the confidentiality of sources principle and for the strict application of the European Court of Human Rights case-law in this area, including in relation to whistle-blowing; calls on all EU Member States to decriminalize defamation; calls for journalists to be protected from intimidation, harassment, threats and violence, as investigative journalists are often threatened as a result of their activities; furthermore underlines that such pressure has a chilling effect on free expression that leads to self-censorship among media; highlights the need to support and promote investigative journalism and to promote ethical journalism in the media by developing professional standards and appropriate redress procedures; notably through professional training;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on Member States to adopt legislation as to prevent the infiltration of newsrooms by intelligence officers since such practices highly endanger freedom of expression as they allow for the surveillance of newsrooms and generate a climate of distrust, hamper the gathering of information and threaten the confidentiality of sources and ultimately attempt to misinform and manipulate the public, as well as damage the credibility of media;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Supports the practical, bottom-up efforts initiated by European journalists to defend their fundamental rights by instituting a drop-in centre to document alleged violations of those rights (in line with the pilot project (Amendment No 1225) which was adopted by the plenary as part of Parliament's position on the 2013 budget on 23 October 2012);
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Believes that the EU has competences to take legislative measures to guarantee, protect and promote freedom of expression and of information, media freedom and pluralism, at least as much as it has in relation to the protection of minors and of human dignity, cultural diversity, citizens' access to information about and/or the coverage of important events, promoting the rights of persons with disabilities, consumer protection in relation to commercial communications, the right to reply, which are general interests covered by the AVMSD; at the same time, believes that any regulation should be done on the basis of a detailed and careful analysis of the situation in the EU and in its Member States, of the problems to be solved and the best ways to address them; believes that non-legislative initiatives, such as monitoring, self- regulation, codes of conduct, as well as the activation of article 7 TEU when appropriate, shall be better pursued at this stage, as requested by most stakeholders, bearing in mind that some of the most striking threats to media freedom in some Member States come from newly adopted legislation;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to review the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) and evaluate extending its scope to minimum standards for the respect, protection and promotion of the fundamental right to freedom of expression and information, media freedom and pluralism, and implement the related EU and ECHR jurisprudence, as the directive objective is to create an area without internal frontiers for audiovisual media services whilst ensuring at the same time a high level of protection of objectives of general interest, as the jurisprudence has spelled out the authorities' " positive obligation to put in place an appropriate legislative and administrative framework to guarantee effective pluralism"14a; consequently calls the Commission to institutionalise EU- level cooperation and coordination on the media, for instance by establishing a European regulators' group for audiovisual media services, and to harmonise the status of the national regulatory authorities provided for in Articles 29 and 30 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), ensuringVMSD, ensuring - as it happens for and on the basis of the model of regulatory authorities in the framework of electronic communications - that they are independent, impartial and transparent as regards their decision-making processes, the exercise of their powers and the monitoring process, effectively funded to carry out their activities and that they have appropriate sanctioning powers to ensure that their decisions are implemented; calls on Member States to immediately proceed with reforms to achieve these objectives; __________________ 14a ECHR, Centro Europa 7, 7 June 2012, par. 134.
Amendment 181 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission, the Council and the Member States to take appropriate and timely, proportionate and progressive measures where concerns arise in relation to freedom of expression, information, media freedom and pluralism in the EU and in its Member States;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure transparency in media ownership and to ascertain whether public funds are used efficientlydestined by Member States in relation to the public service media are used in strict accordance with Protocol 29 to the Treaties;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Expresses concern at the lack of transparency in media ownership in Europe and consequently calls on the Commission and the Member States to take initiatives to ensure transparency in media ownership and management, notably by requiring broadcast, print and similar media to submit to national media authorities, company registers and the public sufficient ownership information to allow identification of the beneficial and ultimate owners of media outlets, for instance by further developing the Mavise database;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Calls on the EU and Member States to ensure that freedom of expression is fully respected on the Internet in relation to the provision and circulation of information and warns against efforts by authorities to require registrations or authorisations, or curb content allegedly harmful by them;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 c (new)
Paragraph 12 c (new)
12c. Underlines that according to the European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence, authorities have positive obligations under Article 10 ECHR to protect freedom of expression as one of the preconditions for a functioning democracy, as "genuine effective exercise of certain freedoms foes not depend merely on the State's duty not to interfere, but may require positive measures of protection";