Question for written answer E-010054/2014 to the Commission Rule 130 Csaba Molnár (S&D)

Subject: Amendment of the Hungarian law on the Rules of Broadcasting and Digital Switchover

Under the amendment tabled by Hungary’s governing party on 27 November 2014 to Law No LXXIV of 2007, digital broadcasters would be required to give precedence to public service channels over other channels. At present there are five public service TV channels operating, and next year’s draft budget guarantees funding for the creation of others. This means that, if the proposal were adopted, it would be easy for a situation to arise whereby commercial TV providers with a large audience are squeezed out from the basic service provider package. The amendment is a further episode in the war which the Hungarian Government has waged in recent months against RTL Klub, a provider of objective information, since it already plans to raise the rate of the advertising tax on RTL – which has been subject to a Commission investigation – from 40% to 50%. In the light of the above, the sole objective of the legislative proposal is to compel everyone, from the service provider to the viewer, to exchange objective information for government propaganda, thus destroying the remaining portion of the media which is still independent of the government. As well as clearly violating the principle of equal treatment and distorting competition on the Hungarian media market, the amendment also restricts Hungary’s freedom of the press, which is already in tatters.

Is such a legislative proposal compatible with the basic right to freely receive and provide information, and with the objectives of the Charter of Fundamental Rights?

Is a restriction of this magnitude on media market competition, which prohibits channels from being included on the basis of their service providers’ viewing figures, compatible with Directive 2010/13/EU (the Audiovisual Media Services Directive)?

Does the Commission wish to draw the Hungarian Government’s attention to the fact that this measure would mean a renewed breach by the Hungarian Government of its Treaty obligations?

1042324.EN PE 544.732