Media unions welcome EU actions on Hungary’s media law
EURO-MEI - the regional organisation of UNI MEI global union in Europe representing over 70 media and entertainment unions throughout the EU and other European countries welcomes the actions taken by the European Commission against the new Hungarian media law since the hearing of the European Parliament of 17 January (link to documentation of the hearing).
According to Europolitics, Commissioner Kroes has sent a letter to the Hungarian government in recent days to express the Commission’s “serious doubts” with regard to the Hungarian media law. EURO-MEI welcomes that the Commissions seems to relate those doubts also to freedom of the press and media pluralism in Hungary and the compatibility of this law with the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. Earlier on the Commission had limited its inquiry to technical issues and questioned only whether the law is compatible with the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS).
Responding to the new law and the initial timid reaction of the European Commission – raising the question over the compatibility of the new law with the AVMS directive - European media trade unions had issued a statement on 23 December 2010 (please see under “related files” above) calling on the EU institutions to address the issue on the grounds of the EU charter of fundamental rights. Many affiliates of UNI had issued statement and letters of protest during the last month and continue to put pressure on their national governments. In a message to Members of the European Parliament on 17 January prior to the Parliament Hearing on the new Hungarian media law the same day, EURO-MEI urged Parliamentarians to pressure the Commission to go beyond its earlier assessment and launch a formal inquiry on the grounds of non-respect of the EU Charter of fundamental rights. In the message EURO-MEI expressed the hope that the hearing and actions of the European Parliament would contribute to a process that result in a radical change or withdrawal of the law.
“The new stand the Commission is taking is encouraging and we continue to hope that this process will bring about the necessary changes in the law or its withdrawal”, said William Maunier, EURO-MEI President today. The Commission now criticises the requirement for all media in Hungary to provide “balanced coverage”, a key feature of the law which reveals its real purpose: control over the media, he emphasised.
EURO-MEI supports the members of the Hungarian S&D group in the European Parliament and their demand expressed during the parliamentary hearing of 17 January to withdraw for the government to withdraw the media law.