Today, radio spectrum regulators from all 27 EU Member States and Commission experts met in Brussels in the framework of the Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) – an advisory group on radio spectrum set up by the Commission in 2002 – to discuss the spectrum policy priorities for 2009. After the meeting, Dániel Pataki, Head of the Hungarian Regulatory Authority, Chairman of the European Regulators Group and newly elected chairman of the RSPG, discussed his policy priorities with Commissioner Viviane Reding in a bilateral meeting, with a special focus on the strategic approach to the digital dividend and the "broadband for all" policy of the European Commission. On this basis, Dániel Pataki and Viviane Reding made the following joint statement:

Forum d'Avignon 2008 – Culture, facteur de croissance, Avignon, 17 novembre 2008

The EURANET European Radio Network is launching its new multilingual, interactive "community on web" Internet platform. Mrs Margot WALLSTRÖM – Commission Vice-President and Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy – has welcomed the support which the Commission is to make available to the consortium over the next five years.

The seventh and last Brussels Debate in the framework of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008 was held on Wednesday evening and focused on the contribution of media to a diverse and open society in Europe. Traditional, as well as new media have a tremendous impact on how people interact with each other. This especially applies to the fight against intolerance and racism.

The European Commission has published, for public consultation, a draft Communication laying down the rules that it intends to apply to state funding of public service broadcasting. Member States and stakeholders now have the opportunity to submit their views on the proposed text. Comments should be submitted by 15 January 2009. Key issues for discussion include more flexibility for public broadcasters to meet the challenges of the new media environment, the principles underpinning the definition of the public service remit by the Member States as well as supervision of public service activities at national level. On the basis of the comments received, the Commission could adopt a modernised Broadcasting Communication in the first half of 2009. A first consultation on the general principles of the review took place between January and March 2008.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on plans to extend the state aid assessment criteria of its Cinema Communication (see IP/01/1326) until 31 December 2012. Under the current criteria, state support for film production can be exempted from the EC Treaty's ban on state aid under certain conditions. In particular, such support must concern cultural films, while respecting certain thresholds regarding territorial requirements and aid intensity. Schemes must also comply with the EC Treaty rules and cannot focus on specific film-making activities. The Commission proposes to extend the validity of these criteria for three years and invites interested parties to submit their comments by 30 November 2008.

The European Parliament cast an overwhelmingly positive vote today on the report drafted by MEP Roberta Angelilli which supports the launch of a new EU Safer Internet programme. The 5-year programme (2009–13), proposed by the European Commission last February, will have a budget of € 55 million to combat illegal online content but also to tackle illegal and harmful conduct such as grooming and cyberbullying.

The Commission today welcomed the Colombian national regulator's (the National Commission for Television CNTV) selection the European Digital Video Broadcasting standard (DVB-T) for the country's digital terrestrial TV. The terrestrial DVB standard, DVB-T, has already been adopted in Europe and by over 120 countries in Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America. The decision by the Colombian regulator will confirm the EU's commitment to working with Colombia and the rest of Latin America to better exploit the potential of ICT and media. Other Latin American countries (such as Peru, Venezuela, Argentina or Chile) are expected to decide soon about their digital TV standard. In August 2007, Uruguay was the first Latin American country to choose to use the DVB family of standards for its digital TV needs.

Cooperation with the European film industry is in strong demand around the globe. The results of the first call for projects of a new EU initiative, the MEDIA International Preparatory Action, show a lot of interest from audiovisual professionals around the world in working with Europe's film and audiovisual sector. The EU will provide nearly €2 million of funding for 18 projects involving partners from Canada, Latin America, India, China, South Korea, Japan, Morocco, Bosnia, Turkey and Georgia. The projects include joint training of film professionals, reciprocal promotion of films and cooperation between cinema networks. This could set the stage for a broader EU film cooperation programme called MEDIA MUNDUS, coming in 2011.

Fast and reliable access to research results, especially via the Internet, can drive innovation, advance scientific discovery and support the development of a strong knowledge-based economy. The European Commission wants to ensure that the results of the research it funds under the EU's 7th Research Framework Programme (FP7) with more than € 50 billion from 2007 - 2013 are disseminated as widely and effectively as possible to guarantee maximum exploitation and impact in the world of researchers and beyond. The Commission today launched a pilot project that will give unrestricted online access to EU-funded research results, primarily research articles published in peer reviewed journals, after an embargo period of between 6 and 12 months. The pilot will cover around 20% of the FP7 programme budget in areas such as health, energy, environment, social sciences and information and communication technologies. "The rapid development of digital technologies offers researchers unprecedented possibilities for the timely and efficient sharing of information. Our new pilot will harness that potential," said Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media.

Europe's cultural diversity in books, music, paintings, photographs, and films open to all citizens at the click of a mouse via one portal – this dream of a European Digital Library could become reality this autumn. However, further efforts by the EU Member States are needed, said the Commission today in a new Communication on making available digital versions of works from cultural institutions all over Europe. Digitisation of cultural works can give Europeans access to material from museums, libraries and archives abroad without having to travel or turn hundreds of pages to find a piece of information. Europe's libraries alone contain more than 2.5 billion books, but only about 1% of archival material is available in digital form. The Commission therefore called on Member States to do more to make digitised works available online for Europeans to browse them digitally, for study, work or leisure. The Commission itself will provide some € 120 million in 2009-2010 for improving online access to Europe's cultural heritage.

More than 63% of Europe's television broadcasters' programming time is devoted to European works and over 36% to works by independent European producers. These new figures come from the European Commission's eighth report on effectiveness of EU rules on the promotion of European works, which covers the period 2005-2006. This report which is published every two years is based on information provided by the EU Member States and monitors the promotion of European works on European TV screens under the 'Television without Frontiers' Directive. For the first time, broadcasters in the new EU-10 Member States are fully analysed in this report, and the report shows that they show today as much European content as those in the EU-15.

The European Commission has approved, under EC Treaty state aid rules, a €231 million Hungarian film support scheme, which will run until 31 December 2013. The six-year scheme covers all Hungary's film support measures, including the Hungarian film tax incentive. It is designed to promote the development of film culture in Hungary. The Commission found that the scheme is compatible with the cultural derogation of the EC Treaty, in line with the 2001 Cinema Communication rules concerning aid to film production. The Hungarian authorities will implement any changes that may be required after the expiry of the Cinema Communication.

The European Commission has approved a €7.5 million Sardinian film support scheme until 2010 under the EU state aid rules. The three-year scheme covers all Sardinia's measures to support films of regional and cultural interest. The Commission found that the scheme is compatible with the cultural derogation of the EC Treaty, as well as with the rules in the 2001 Cinema Communication concerning aid to film production.

The European Commission has approved a EUR 150 million capital injection for the French public-television holding company, France Télévisions. The measure aims to enable the public channels to fulfil their general-interest mission in 2008 by offsetting the reduction in commercial revenues that followed the announcement that advertising would eventually be banned on such channels. The Commission has taken the view that the capital injection was justified given the net costs that these specific missions involve and the French authorities' commitments regarding control of the funds. This decision is unrelated to current discussions on possible new types of public financing for France Télévisions, which will have to be notified at a later date to the Commission.

The European Commission has approved a €43 million Latvian film support scheme until 31 December 2013 under EC Treaty state aid rules. The six-year scheme covers all Latvia's film support measures including film development, production and distribution of Latvian and European films, particularly in rural Latvia. The Commission found that the scheme is compatible with the cultural derogation of the EC Treaty and in line with the 2001 Cinema Communication rules concerning aid to film production. The Latvian authorities will implement any changes that may be required after the expiry of the Cinema Communication.

The European Commission has adopted an antitrust decision prohibiting 24 European collecting societies from restricting competition by limiting their ability to offer their services to authors and commercial users outside their domestic territory. However, the decision allows collecting societies to maintain their current system of bi-lateral agreements and to keep their right to set levels of royalty payments due within their domestic territory.

The European Commission today adopted two initiatives in the area of copyright. First, the Commission proposes to align the copyright term for performers with that applicable to authors, in this way bridging the income gap that performers face toward the end of their lives. Secondly, the Commission proposes to fully harmonise the copyright term that applies to co-written musical compositions. In parallel, the Commission also adopted a Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy. The consultation document focuses on topics that appear relevant for the development of a modern economy, driven by the rapid dissemination of knowledge and information. Both of these initiatives comprise a unique mix of social, economic and cultural measures aimed at maintaining Europe as a prime location for cultural creators in the entertainment and knowledge sectors.

EU Media Commissioner Viviane Reding will meet today nine editors-in-chief of European newspapers such as Le Monde (France) and Lidové Noviny (Czech Republic) in what is becoming a staple high-level dialogue on the health of print media. On the agenda: Is the press maintaining high editorial standards online or is there a rush to be first with the news at all costs? Are print journalists being forced to take on too many roles in the multi-platform world of print, web, podcast and video clip and if so, is quality suffering? Do editors-in-chief from old and new Member States have any common views on media pluralism that could help the Commission in its quest to devise indicators for measuring media pluralism? How could public funding of online activities of broadcasters come into conflict with freedom of the press?

15% of Europeans suffer from some form of disability, and many face barriers such as reading a website's small text or even knowing how to access websites and online services. Despite repeated calls by the EU and government leaders to improve this situation, progress remains limited: by far the majority of websites fail to use universally accepted user-friendly solutions. Today the European Commission launched a public consultation on further measures to make websites in Europe accessible, starting with those of public administrations, and invites stakeholders to give their views. It also addresses other technologies like digital television. The consultation is open until 27 August 2008.