No new media freedom laws, says EC

SILVIO Berlusconi’s stranglehold on Italian TV and his flurry of writs against some of Europe’s best-known publications led members of the European Parliament to demand legislation guaranteeing press freedom and plurality.

But the European Commission said it had no intention of drawing up such legislation despite the issue of media freedom being an article of the EU’s treaties.

The demands split parliament, with the centre-right siding with Berlusconi’s European People’s Party while the left and liberals insisted something had to be done.

Allegations and counter-claims were thrown across parliament where MEPs revealed media freedom was an issue in more than just Italy. Portugal’s sacking of a TV station head and Germany’s political parties owning newspapers were cited as problems.

The fact that Berlusconi owns most commercial television stations and controls the state-owned RAI as prime minister, and owns magazines, newspapers and one of the biggest ad agencies in Europe, allows him to influence public opinion to too great an extent, said French MEP Patrick Le Hyaric. He said the EU should establish a European body to monitor press freedom, set a limit to the amount of media controlled by one person or organisation and devise legislation to prevent attacks on a free media.

Media Commissioner Viviane Reding refused, saying all member states had institutions for settling problems over fundamental rights, and legislation on media pluralism would only be possible if there were internal market problems that would be solved by having such legislation.