Directorate-General Internal Policies Policy Department C CITIZENS' RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS THE INFORMATION OF THE CITIZEN IN THE EU: OBLIGATIONS FOR THE MEDIA AND THE INSTITUTIONS CONCERNING THE CITIZEN'S RIGHT TO BE FULLY AND OBJECTIVELY INFORMED STUDY ID. N°: IPOL/C/IV/2003/04/01 AUGUST 2004 PE 358.896 EN Thisstudy wasrequested by: the European Parliament'sCommittee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Thispaper ispublished in the following languages: EN (original) and DE Author: Deirdre Kevin, Thorsten Ader, Oliver Carsten Fueg, Eleftheria Pertzinidou, Max Schoenthal European Institute for the Media, Düsseldorf Responsible Official: Mr Jean-Louis ANTOINE-GRÉGOIRE Policy Unit Directorate C Remard 03 J016 - Brussels Tel: 42753 Fax: E-mail:
[email protected] Manuscript completed in August 2004. Paper copiescan be obtained through: - E-mail:
[email protected] - Site intranet: http://ipolnet.ep.parl.union.eu/ipolnet/cms/pid/438 Brussels, European Parliament, 2005 The opinionsexpressed in thisdocument are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposesare authorized, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher isgiven prior notice and sent a copy. 2 PE 358.896 EN Table of Contents Acknowledgements 3 Abstract 4 Executive Summary 5 Part I Introduction 8 Part II: Country Reports Austria 15 Belgium 25 Cyprus 35 Czech Republic 42 Denmark 50 Estonia 58 Finland 65 France