Public service broadcasting and State aid rules: between a rock and a hard place

Abstract:

Public service broadcasters are under increasing scrutiny throughout Europe as to the way they operate and are financed. The debate surrounding these issues has both a legal and a political dimension. In legal terms the EC law perspective raises a number of interesting points. The Commission has recently published a long awaited Communication in which it expresses its position on the application of State aid rules to public service broadcasting. This article analyses the new Communication and the EC case law in the area. It explores the tensions which emerge as a result of both the application of heterogeneous EC principles and the conciliation of EC rules and national regulation. The article highlights the practical difficulties raised by the Commission policy as expressed in the Communication and, at the same time, it seeks to identify the policy trend, its origin and its limits.