Original scientific paper
The European Legal Framework for Television Without Frontiers
Séverine Fautrelle
; Docteur en droit, Chargée de mission à la Direction du développement
Abstract
The Television Without Frontiers Directive (TWF) and the European Convention
on Transfrontier Television establishes the reference regulatory framework for the
free movement of television programmes in Europe. Adopted in 1989, the content
of these texts is quite similar: lays down a body of common basic rules concerning
European television programmes (quotas), commercial communications on television
(advertising, teleshopping, sponsorship and self-promotion), protection of
minorities, right to reply, and public access to events of major importance for society.
First revised in 1997, the TWF Directive is now undergoing a re-examination
that will lead to a new revision in 2006. Currently, The European Convention
on Transfrontier Television is now being examined by the Standing Committee on
Transfrontier Television. The current debates in Bruxelles and Strasbourg show
that the Directive and the Convention have proven their effectiveness, but also that
the law must continually be adapted to technological developments in the audiovisual sector. Today, the main question debated is the extension of the directive’s
– and the convention’s – scope for new services, such as TV on the Internet and
video on demand. Such extension will need to determine the appropriate legal
framework for these services, in particular their contribution to cultural diversity
promotion in the context of the adoption of the Convention on the protection and
promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions by UNESCO.
Keywords
European Convention on Transfrontier Television; Television Without Frontiers; audiovisuel rights
Hrčak ID:
26391
URI
Publication date:
18.12.2005.
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