Reding: EU states would block tougher TV quotas

By Peter Chapman

Date: 16/10/03

VIVIANE Reding, the commissioner for education and culture, has admitted that EU quotas are failing to stop Hollywood hogging the limelight on Europe's TV screens - but says governments would block tougher rules.

The quotas are part of the EU's 1989 Television without Frontiers Directive, currently under review by her department.

These force mainstream TV channels to show, as far as possible, a majority of locally produced programmes and films.

The aim is to give European content a chance to compete in its own market against the steady flow of imported US blockbusters or top-rated serials such as ER, Friends or Sex and the City.

Reding, speaking to European Voice, said she accepted the objections of the EU film industry, which complains that TV channels can easily escape the quotas.

"What we see is that, with this very wide definition of European programmes, the TV quotas are over and above the 50% everywhere. But, of course, if you analyze what this "over and above 50%" is, you see that the part that is quality programming and films is small, except for specialist channels [such as Franco-German channel Arté]."

Reding said TV channels escape quotas by showing mainly domestic current affairs or entertainment shows, such as the hugely successful Big Brother franchise, owned by Dutch-based Endemol, now part of Spanish telecom firm Telefonica.

That means they are free to feed viewers an almost non-stop diet of Hollywood movies without fear of breaking the EU rules.

But, claimed Reding, someUnion member states would not stomach a strengthening of the quotas, should the Luxembourg commissioner include such a call in a blueprint on how to overhaul the law due in January next year.

Berlin, opposed to media curbs, is likely to lead opposition to further checks on what broadcasters can show.

"The Germans still do not like quotas very much," said the commissioner.

The entry of ten new member states, fed up with Soviet-era curbs on TV freedom, will further limit the room for manoeuvre, Reding said, adding: "When you are a commissioner you have to have a vision, you have to know about realpolitik and you have to bring member states as close together as possible.

"I'm certainly not going to make any proposals which are completely without the possibility of reaching any kind of consensus."

Responding to Reding's comments, Philippe Kern, secretary-general of the European Film Companies Alliance, said: "The problem is we see that, today, broadcasters can comply with the quota without showing any European films.

"This needs to be questioned," added, Kern, a former EU affairs director for Anglo-Dutch entertainment giant PolyGram, which was taken over by the owners of Universal Studios in 1998.

European Commission: Audiovisual and Media Policies: Regulatory Framework http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/reg/index_en.htm

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